A Rose's Final Task
by Cipher32
Summary: When Ruby finally defeat Salem she doesn't know what else to do. There is nothing left of her groups of friends and family, but when she is dying she only had two wishes. One someone to take care of Crescent Rose when she die and two to have a second chance and fix everything. Adult Ruby! Time-travel AU! No-pairing other than canon. Credits image goes to Neverominin (DeviantArt)
1. Chapter 1:From Dust to Dust

**Hello and welcome to my story!**

**First of all before we begin I would like to inform you guys about a few points regarding this story so please spare your time to read this.**

**I AM NOT a native English speaker, so if there any grammatical errors and misspellings please bear with me. I'm trying my best and still learning about English and any help you guys provide will be appreciated.**

**I knew about RWBY just recently, I think it was a month ago? yeah something like that and I only watch the main cast and Chibi only with maybe a few character shorts. There are a lot of things they did not mention in the main show and I don't think my knowledge about RWBY is adequate until I read a few RWBY fanfics. Heck, I did not know the name of Yang's weapons until I read a fanfic! Thus in this note, I hope you guys will help me too.**

**Third and last, there will be no pairing in this story unless current canon. If any of you come here for the pairing then I'm sorry to inform you I'm not too keen with most pairings in RWBY fandom. I mean, I just can't see team RWBY engaged in some kind of romantic relationship, heck I can't imagine Ruby will marry someone in the future cause she was just so... Well, Ruby! No actually it was just me refusing to believe our little Rose will grow up eventually *cries*.**

**So yeah, that will be all.**

**Now please enjoy and leave reviews!**

**_A Rose Final Task_**

**_Chapter 1:_****_From Dust to Dust._**

A howl of a lone Beowolf faded in the distance, far-so far-away from where she at she can just refuse to acknowledge it. The sun had already settled in the horizon, bathing the forest with golden rays of dying light as a gust of wind wash over the tree tops rustling their blacking leaves. Her steps faltered for a few strides, hissing and limping to her last and only companion as she grip it in one hand while her other clutched tightly around her abdomen. Her tattered crimson hood was pulled atop her head and wrapped around her body, giving a comfort she didn't know she need.

Crescent Rose pulled closer, Ruby leant on her so called sweetheart for a moment to catch her breath. The giant High-Impact Sniper Scythe has been turned to a walking stick for the past few hours now instead of a deadly weapon she was designed for. In any other circumstances, the 25 year old woman would have laugh considering the effort she putted to create and modify her to her current state. But as she dare a glance to her other hand and what she so desparately trying to cover with any humour bleed out of her with a grimace that grew an inch larger as she noticed the accidental pun.

_Great, you are dying and your mind decided to went full Yang for a second there._

With a shake of her head the cloaked Huntress continue her walk, fully aware with the warm crimson liquid running down her thigh and leg below where her wound was. For some unknow reason the bleeding won't stop even though she had patched it with what little first aid she carried, Ruby had half a mind it perhaps was because she got stabbed with a pure Black Dust during that battle against Salem not a day ago but honestly she didn't care anymore, the witch is dead and that was what matter.

She frowned slightly as one thought that keep nagging at the back of her mind resurface for the nth time in that day

_Is she really dead though? Jinn said she can't be killed but technically she was not killed. _

Of course Ruby did not let that bitch to continue roaming on Remnant's surface, after hundred of plans failed she finally manage to found out how to incapacitate Salem without actually killing her. It was kind of ironic that the only way to eliminate the Queen of Grimm is by throwing her down to the very place where Grimm is borned; to the pit of the God of Darkness' lair.

Now, Ruby is not an idiot. She didn't just throw her down to it's endless bottom unless she want Salem to return one day no, she had taken precautions which she was not proud of doing but knew should be done; by cutting her hands and legs first.

Severing the woman's limbs was a gruesome task, especially when she can regenerated her lose limbs by using Grimm appendages. But that was when her Silver Eyes power came in handy, with each limbs Salem tried to recover Ruby already a step ahead by fixing the woman with death glare which mean literal when it comes to Grimm, she never been so thankful of the gifts her mother gave her.

Her mother...

Ruby winced as she settled down under a tree, Crescent Rose collapsed to its Sniper form on her lap. Glancing around to deem the place is safe enough from any threat, she lean her head and stare at the shattered moon above, Silver Eyes glinting under its white light.

Her mother, Summer Rose, was killed by Salem herself.

She did not know about this until Salem's final moment, when Ruby tied a rope around the other woman torso, intending to use one of giant Black Dust crystals scattered on that place as an anchor to make sure Salem keep drowning until eternity.

_"You succeed, child. It appears Silver Eyed Warriors are really destined to fight the darkness, just like that Bastard of God intended"__"_

_Shut up, I don't give a damn about you and your problem with the God of Light"_

_Despite her condition, Salem still gave her a knowing smile. One that was similiar when an adult chide a little girl for doing something wrong.__Ruby seriously start contemplating to cut her head too._

_"It's a shame it need to be this long though, the last Silver Eyed Warrior I fought before you did not even manage to do what half you done. I can't blame her for she was too kind-hearted, too soft to even harm me. Do you know what she did? she tried to talk me out to stop going my path"_

_At this point the red haired woman barely paid any attention to what her opponent said, but still Ruby tried to humour her as she tied the other end of the rope to a boulder-sized Black Dust crystal. "She was an idiot then, nobody in their right mind would try to presuade you"_

_"__Hmm maybe, she was so naïve indeed" She paused, as if remembering something or maybe just pretending to, though her next tone suggest she did the latter. "Do you know people consider white as a symbol of purity? of love and comfort?"_

_Ruby stop mid-push, slowly turning her head to her downed opponent with wide Silver Eyes. "What did you say?"_

_"It fit her quite well, now I think about it, her white hood, I mean"_

_In a flash of red and rose petals, the Huntress had the other woman around her grips by neck as she lift her off the grounds. "WHERE IS SHE?!" Ruby practically yelled on Salem's face, teeth grinded together as a myriad of emotions swirl in her gut._

_Hope, anger, sorrow._

_"How could I know? it was a long time a go. I have plenty memories reserved for better things instead of a random human dying" her reply came in a strained voice as Ruby's grips tightened the more she speak. "But now, looking closely to you I'm starting to remember. Same red hair, same facial features and-"_

_Ruby did not let her finish, slamming the limbless body to the ground as strong as she can it actually left a crater. She marched toward the other end of the rope, Crescent Rose unfolding in her hands to its Scythe form. The white skinned bitch actually had a nerve to laugh, fueling her anger even more until she stood next to her make-shift anchor.__With one powerful swing, she hit the said anchor with Crescent Rose's back side sending it flying toward the tar like substance with Salem following later._

_A satisfying splash signaled both the Dust crystal and Salem had indeed landed there if the cease of laughter was not enough proof._

_Ruby stood on the edge of it, one hand firmly holding her beloved weapon while the other desparately wiping the tears running down her eyes. Not noticing one of Salem's separated hand flew to her direction with a jagged Black Dust crytsal on its grip until it's too late._

_With a clang, Crescent Rose fell of her hand and hit the ground. Ruby's hands instinctively goes to her abdomen where the crystal was, and a scream tore through the air_ _later._

After that a painful process of removing the crystalensued, she had no idea how a separated hand could flew through the air in fast enough velocity to penetrated her Aura and the metal plating of her battle dress in one strike.

Sure her Aura was already low to begin with but her dress was a standar from Atlas military, the Fifth Gen Battle Dress Uniform specifically built for Hunters and Huntresses. It has half of centimeter Titanium-A battle plates built around the abdomen area, chest and shoulders under layers of special fabrics that can enhanced its wearer Aura protection effectiveness which also adaptable with climates change.

Or maybe it was just a mouthful.

Doesn't matter though, she liked this dress since it comes in black and red, her favourite colors of all things was the reason why she agreed to use it.

She chuckled, but frowned when she realised she doesn't actually know why. Though a quick glance to her wounded side answered her rather rethorical question.

_Blood loss, yikes. Now I'll start hallucinating things._Ruby bring one of her knees close, resting her hand to it while the other fumble with Crescent Rose. She paid little mind to the blood she left on her companion from her hand, not bothering to return it to her wound knowing how futile her attempt to stop the bleeding was.

"It's always comes back to you and me, Crescent" Ruby whispered, bringing her weapon close to her chest. "You're what's left now, but soon it will be only you" once again a fit of chuckles left her throat, though this time Ruby know the reason why.

"Hunters and Huntresses alike often changed their weapons, was it because of damage or lost doesn't matter. One thing for sure, most of them did at least once in their career"

She smiled faintly. "But not me though! I will never replace you no matter what! You're one and my only baby, Crescent!" As fast as it appeared her cheerful smile gone, replaced with a more sad one. "Though, it seems I will be the one to leave you. So for that, I'm sorry"

Ruby reached for her pouch on her back with her free hand, after a second of searching with her fingers she pulled out a sheet of folded paper from it. Not wasting what little time she has, her trembling hands started to unfurl it with little more effort than she like.

Inside was a letter, one she rewrote and reread for countless time already since she first decided to created it. Ruby already knew what's inside, but reading it always bring a sense of ease knowing a piece of her probably will end up in the right hands. Though it was a big if, she refused to acknowledge any other outcome.

**_Dear you_**

**_My name is Ruby Rose. I'm a Huntress from Vale, though if you read this it's probably a was... Heh._**

**_Anyway, yes I'm dead. I don't actually care with my body after I died so if you did not bother to search for it then it's okay! I'm not going to haunt you the whole life so it's fine._**

**_But I can't say the same if you don't look up for my weapon though. Don't worry, she's easy to look out for, bright red and big if she's on her full form but it doesn't mean she was small when she's not._**

**_Her name is Crescent Rose, a High-Impact Sniper Scythe I created when I was a kid. I want you to take care of her when I can't anymore and please do good things with her._**

**_This is my final request as a Huntress._**

**_Thank you._**

A droplet of tear landed on the crumpled paper, folding it back to it's previous form the Crimson Huntress slip it to a compartement on her weapon. She stared at it for a moment before a grin broke up on her face. "What? I always want to help people even in my death"

As usual there is only silence, but Ruby understand her weapon like she understand herself. Afterall, a Hunters and Huntress' weapons are an extension of themselves, she really meant it when she said it years ago.

Her eyelids had felt so heavy for some time now, and she had lost the feel of her legs for quite long. The only thing Ruby can feel was her hands and the weight of Crescent Rose on her lap, even so her hands already felt so cold.

_Well this is it, I've been so tired. I guess it's time to finally meet them again._ Her head start to drop down, Silver Eyes slowly closing.

_I did it, Mom. I've saved the world just like those heroes in your books. Though now I understand why Blake prefered to read something more realistic, there is no welcome home party and happily after but me being alone in the middle of nowhere with no recognition._

_But it's okay! I never good with people anyway, and the least they know the better. I bet right now Ironwood's cranning his neck trying to figured out what happen to the Grimm in Atlas._

_Heh, that old geezer..._

_At least now I can join you all up there, you don't know how much I miss you guys. Everyday I spent thinking what might have been if that attack on Beacon never happened, I can almost picture me, Weiss, Blake and Yang strolling down Vale's road and arguing over something silly like setting up surprise party and other good things we never done._

_I just..._

_I just wish... we had that... chance._

With a sigh, her breathing cease all together. Hands falling limp to her sides and head tilted, her bangs covering up her eyes and if someone look out to her they will assume she was sleeping with how peaceful she looks like.

She was anything but sleeping.

**_TBC_**

**I know and I'm sorry! Probably was not a good thing to start a story by killing the protagonist... Okay it is definitely not a good thing.**

**But hey I've got plan! before you all decide to kill me!**

**Anyway, I've been looking for a good time-travel RWBY fanfics and mostly what I found is either abandoned or not quite reach my taste. So instead of whining like a cry-baby I decided; "Hey, why don't I write one? I've got a good general plot in my head and it would be a waste if I kept it for myself" and taa-da here it is.**

**So yeah, tell me what you think.**

**See you until the next time! it's 2 in the morning here and I have school (you know that boring hours you have to endure) to attend tomorrow. Actually planned this one chapter longer but whatever.**

**Cipher032 out!**


	2. Chapter 2:One more meeting and goodbye

**'Sup? thanks for the positive reviews you guys gives me, they really meant a lot.**

**Sorry I can't reply to you individually because I write this with my phone and boy you know how limited FF app for mobile is.** **But still I will try my best to connect with y'all.**

**Anyway, I think the answer for most of your questions will be revealed in this chapter so yeah I'll let you guys read it instead of leaving a note here. Afterall, where's the fun in it?**

**So without further ado let's do the second chapter of this story!**

**_DISCLAIMER:RWBY BELONG TO ROOSTER TEETH AND ITS ORIGINAL CREATOR MOUNTY OUM (R.I.P)_**

**Enjoy and reviews!**

**_Chapter 2: One more meeting and goodbye._**

Ruby felt funny

And strange...

Okay mostly strange though.

This time however the feeling felt off, unlike anything she had experienced before. The said strangeness felt unusual, like something was wrong yet _not _wrong at the same time. Definitely funny if she gave it a second thought.

Not wanting to dwell on the confusing sensation Ruby tried to flex her fists in attempt to make sure her limbs still intact. She still not dare to open her eyes-fearing this was somekind of cruel joke both Gods played with her after so much failures she did-and find out she was actually in hell.

Her resolve however was shattered when she can't feel her hands, in fact she can't feel anything other than a surge of panic that was rushing her veins. Silver Eyes snapped open Ruby then glance around her surrounding, mentally willing her racing heart to stop pounding so loudly against her chest.

It was white, everything was white as far as her eyes can see with no single object in sight. A sinking feeling suddenly explode in her gut when she noticed she was actually floating with nothing supporting her body, which after a quick inspection revealed it was still intact.

Thankfully.

With a sigh Ruby then start to check her body more thoroughtly, noticing how small her hands and frame were compared to what she used to see. Her eyes also lingered on the dark-red combat boots strapped around her feet that she doesn't remember she had wore since the last few years.

And then she realised she actually wear a freaking combat skirt, one that was familiar nonetheless.

_Okay... okay so uhh... _

She bring her hands up to her front awkwardly, thanks to the numbing sensation it's hard to command both corresponding appendages correctly.

_Is this a joke? why am I returned to my fifteen year old self?! If afterlife were like this then I'd make sure to leave 3/10 rating to whoever in charge here, with maybe a piece of my mind._

With an aggravated groan she reach out to her back to check on her weapon, even in death her first instinct as a Huntress already kicked in. Though Ruby doubt she will find Crescent Rose there, still it's better ready than sorry.

She did find Crescent Rose clasped on her back.

A frown found its way to her face. Why would you need your weapon in a what supposedly your final resting place? Moral support? but she is dead and nothing is worse than being dead for most people.

She shrugged her tiny shoulders, smiling at her beloved companion which apparently refused to leave her side even in death. "Naw what did I say about staying behind, hm? Stubborn little girl"

Ruby load a round to Crescent Rose's firing chamber, feeling satisfied when a familiar clank of its bolt shooting forward resonate on whatever this place is.

When the noise ceased she finally become aware with how unnervingly quiet this strange place was. It should have not came as a surprise considering the absent of anything but still she found herself clutching Crescent Rose closer almost to a hug.

"H-hello...?" her voice echoes in the empty space, and she shrunk to her hood because of how creepy it was.

_Alright not 3/10, definitely -10/10_._ Considering how much people had died since the beginning of era this place should have been a little crowdy... Where is everybody?_

As if to answer her internal question a wave of warm wind blew on her, fluttering her crimson hood from seemingly out of nowhere. Ruby shield her eyes when the wind keep growing stronger and stronger until suddenly her world shift and she found herself staring at a bright blue summer sky.

Her senses come in soon later and this time the odd sensation she felt during her first awakening was non-exist. Instead she felt a warm and soft lap of someone supporting her head and a hand combing her hair gently.

The said person is humming a tone from a song Ruby knew, how could she not when it was one of her favourite and the person who introduced the said song was none other than-

"Wake up, Little Rose" Ruby felt a stinging sensation on the corner of her eyes as tears threatened to spill. There is no denying it, that voice still sounds the same just like how she remembered.

Sweet, cheerful and loving.

"Hey mom" she greeted between choked breath as the warm liquids finally run down her face.

A headful of deep red hair appeared in her vision hovering abover her, accompanying it are two Silver Eyes, crinkled thanks to a big smile on a familiar face she hadn't seen for most of her life. "Hello to you too, sweety"

The red hooded woman practically threw herself to hug her long gone mother, sobbing and weeping at the other woman's white hood, arms tight around as if afraid she will lose her mother again. "I missed you so-so much! This is probably the only good thing of being dead"

A laugh resonate in the air, genuine and infectious Ruby found herself giggling along even as her tears continue to spill out.

A hand rest on each of her shoulders, pushing herself lightly from the embrace. Ruby almost fight it back but as those hands flexed in a reassuring squeeze she finally let go and stare at her mother's face instead.

"Look at you, all grown up to a beautiful young woman" Summer said with a grin, pushing a strand of red hair to the back of her daughter's ear, wiping the tear trails on Ruby's cheeks in one swift movement as if she had done it for hundred times she then rest both palms to her cheeks.

The aforementioned daughter put her own hands to her cheeks, holding both of her mother hands. "Well, they said I've got it from my mother. And now I believe what they said was not just a hunch"

If her mother smile was bright, it turns out to be blinding the moment Ruby finished talking.

"Of course it's not"

They shared a laugh at their own joke, Ruby had been living with people saying how close she resemble her mother in many aspects and it was so easy to see why.

_Basically same hair, same stunning Silver Eyes and almost similiar clothing. It's a no wonder._

When the laughter finally died down, Ruby scooted closer to lean on the same tree her mother leaning on, still holding to one of her mother hands. "So... what was that strange white place? I thought I would meet you the first time or maybe anyone else... Just, not that"

"It was a gateway between the land of living and afterlife. Everyone who's dead will goes through that place regardless, although..."

"Although...?"

Her mother sighed, muttering something along the line of 'here we goes' and 'just a little longer' under her breath. Ruby squeezed her mother's hand in concern, turning her body with a frown on her face.

Sensing her daughter distress, Summer lifted her eyes to directly look at Ruby's. Offering one more smile albeit a sad one In return. "I've got a news for you. It's not exactly bad but it's actually up to you to decide on that matter"

"Okay?" she drawled in uncertainty, not exactly sure with what her mother meant. "What is it?"

"Ruby... do you know that you were-_are-_special?"

"Aside from being Silver Eyed Warrior? Not really. I never considered myself as special, even the status you inherited to me is more like a responsibility I must uphold than speciality. I just want to be a normal girl with normal knees afterall." her last statement came in meekly as her gaze drop down to her lap.

Ruby really doesn't understand. Her dream was to be a Huntress, helping and protecting people from evil and monsters with sole reason to make everyone safe and happy. The special power she has were just a bonus to achieve that dream and additional reason to protect people than anything.

"But you are. When everyone failed you stay stead, it was not just luck that keeping you this far"

A bitter and hollow chuckles left her mouth.

_Yeah, luck..._

"You're right, I guess. If I was so lucky why did everything was taken from me? My friends, my family..." Ruby met her mother gaze as a drop of tear run down her face once again. "... And you?"

Silence took over the place. Even the gentle gust of wind stopped blowing. It's felt like the world has gone quiet following her confession, just like that night when she receieved the news that her beloved mother has departed from the land of living and would never come back.

Summer's next words come in slowly, almost tentative even.

"Ruby... do you believe... in destiny?"

The red hooded Huntress shook her head, wiping the tear away from her face and fixed her mother with a stern look. "At first yeah, but now I don't. Not anymore."

"And why do you not?"

"Because everyone make their own fate, those paths they created and took are them to begin with. Every actions have their own consequences and nothing is unpurposeful."

"So you are implying everyone has a choice of their own?"

"That, and to never let anyone forcingly decide things for you. What are these questions for, mom?"

"You and everything you wished for"

"... Huh?" Ruby was confused, everything she wished for? But, for countless time she remind herself that day, she is dead! What does she possibly wished for? to return back? she had nothing left and everything she wished for is here in the afterlife.

As if reading her daughter's mind, Summer rests her hand to each of Ruby's shoulders, gaining the other woman's attention. "You have a choice to make"

"What choice?"

"You can follow me and stay dead. Everyone's been waiting for you especially your teammates and father-"

"Duh, let's go then I don't want to make them wait any long-"

"_Or_..." Summer mother hold a finger up, effectively silencing her daughter. "You can go back and fix everything"

Ruby stared, mouth agape and Silver Eyes wide open in disbelief. "B-b-but I thought you said I'm dead!"

"And I thought I said you are special" Her mother chide back gently. "I meant it, you know?"

The Huntress in red look away from her mother tender gaze, those silver orbs so much like her are so familiar she can read it like open book. They were filled with sadness and understanding, already knowing full well which one of the choice Ruby will take.

"I'm so tired, mom." Ruby admitted, staring at one of the grass they sat on, still refusing to look at her mother. "These last few years were the worse, I had to keep fighting and fighting with almost zero victories. But that's not what made them the worse, it was because I lost my friends in almost each defeats until I was the only one left standing"

"Ruby..."

"No mom, it's okay. I'd been fighting for most of my life to set things right, so what's the hurt in doing it once again?"

"Ruby... this is no a small task. You will have to endure everything again from the beginning"

"Then so be it. For better tomorrow I shall endure" She stood up and stretch, feeling her back straightened with a satisfying pop. "That's what I'd been doing"

Her mother stood up too, shaking her head while a small smile forming up on her lips. "There is really no changing your mind, is it?"

"Nope" Ruby laughed. "Try Uncle Qrow or Yang to persuade me next time, heck even Weiss had better chance in suceeding"

"Oh you" Summer flicked her daughter's forehead, earning a whine and pout from her.

"What was that for?!"

"For being such a tease, Little Rose"

Ruby grumbled.

"But... Are you really sure though?"

A sigh later and Ruby affirm her answer. "Yes. Please give my regards to everyone else, with maybe an apologize to Yang and _definitely_ to Weiss"

"Will do"

The surrounding area start to grow brighter and brighter instead of shifting to an entirely new scenery like before. Her mother figure start to glow along with it, and Ruby found herself had to squint her eyes thanks to the blinding silver light.

"One more question! will I be in my younger self or in my own adult body?!"

"The concept of soul is a delicated matter. You can't replace or take over one's soul"

"Alright cool! I don't know how to explain myself to my friends if I suddenly become super strong anyway"

Ruby pretty sure her mother gave her a smile at that statement, but it's hard to tell when the light is so bright. "Good bye, Ruby. We will meet again"

Then the world explode, washing her vision with pure white. Summer's form dissolve into thin air and Ruby had to close her eyes to prevent the light from blinding her.

When she open her eyes again, it was the stark difference from her last scenery. Instead of bright blue summer sky it was a black clear starry sky of night that greeted her vision.

Ruby felt something playing with her hair, but unlike before it did not feel warm and comforting. Whatever it was it almost like a sniffling and manage to trigger that one alarm responsible for self-preservation.

A malicious growl confirm her suspicion.

_Right... I was dead and the first thing I encounter after returning back to life is a Beowolf which the only sole reason is to kill me._

Ruby jumped to her feet, only to sway uncontrollably on her legs when a sudden wave of dizziness hit her.

_Woah okay slow down, for someone who had been dying you actually did pretty good._

Thankfully the Beowolf itself seemingly startled by her sudden action, reeling in surprise and just stare at the swaying woman for a long period of time. Ruby not wasting a moment quickly draw Crescent Rose from her back and shot it on its head, missing an inch from her aim and instead blowing half of the Beowolf's head to nothingness.

Doesn't matter though. A half brained Grimms are mostly same with no brained Grimms. They are dead and never return to bother you.

Ruby rest a hand on nearby tree and lean on it to catch her breath. The sudden rush of adrenaline and nauseous she felt are not a great combination, not at all and not in the slightest.

_Note for myself; make sure to wake up slowly from your death._

Gulping the bile rising up to her throat, Ruby then take a deep breath and exhale slowly from her nose to calm her nerves. Like before she then flex her limbs to make sure they are still intact, although they are hurt as hell at least they are still attached to her body so no complain there.

Mostly.

Ruby groan, pulling her medical supply and rummage for Ibuprofen. She noticed the wound on her abdomen is gone but the hole on her battle dress and undergarment still exist.

_Great, must sew those later, first thing in the morning._

Plucking the medicine to her mouth, she then look at the top of one of the trees mulling a sleeping place that was safe enough from any Grimm.

_That would be sufficient._

She put Crescent Rose back to its magnetic holder on her back, taking a deep breath she then focused what little Aura she has to her feet and jump to her designated resting place. Considering she only needed one hand to keep her balanced she rated that jump 7/10 in her personal opinion, plus the fact her vision won't stop spinning she will add .5 as dispensation.

Ruby then tied a belt around the tree trunk and her middle, after falling face-first during her earlier day sleeping on a tree she had learned her lesson to never sleep somewhere high without a safety measure. A click later and she found herself settling down, legs crossed infront of her and eyes staring at Remnant's shattered moon.

She hasn't yet figured out is she really in the past, for all she knew that meeting with her mother could be none other than a hallucination, a trick played by her mind during its final moment. But then again, that did not exactly explain why her wound is gone.

_Well, plenty of time to figure it out tomorrow_.

Ruby closed her eyes, the fatigue of previous events finally take a toll on her. Wrapping her hood around herself to shield her body from night's cold wind she lulled herself to sleep with one of her favorite song.

_"I remember black skies the lightning all around me..."_

**_TBC_**

**Heya guess who's back!**

**Me of course!**

**Okay that sounds lame.**

**Anyway, next chapter will have a surprise and just maybeee a bit exciting... I mean, how could I know? It's not like I'm the author or something.**

**Oh wait.**

**Yeah, I forgot to put disclaimer in this story and decided to fix it so nothing wrong I hope.**

**See you guys later then!** **Keep the reviews coming guys.**

**Cipher032 out!**


	3. Chapter3: Glimpse of the Future

**_DICLAIMER:RWBY BELONG TO ROOSTER TEETH AND ITS ORIGINAL CREATOR MOUNTY OUM (R.I.P)_**

**Please leave a review and enjoy this next chapter.**

**Chapter 3: ****Glimpse** **of the Future.**

_Please stay straight please stay straight I'm so close just need to be a bit... deeper!_

With a moan of satisfaction Ruby tied the thread around the needle's hole she about to use for sewing her battle dress. Considering how good she is in a fight and overall battle along with the fact she is also a sniper people might think doing precise work like inserting a thread to a sewing needle will come off as easily but no, she had prickled her thumb once and been spending the last ten minutes trying-and failing-to do it.

She was so glad she finally succeeded.

Straightening her dress she had stripped off from on her lap, Ruby begun the job of stitching it, humming to herself while munching a mouthful of biscuit from what little MRE stock she carried along with her other supplies.

Her red hood is absent from her shoulders, hung loosely on a tree branch above her while she settled down on the forest floor directly under that one tree she slept at. Her undershirt still has a hole on it but she honestly didn't care that much about it, maybe she will patch it later but after going through that hideous task which caused her thumb to had a hole in it she dismissed the idea as fast as it appears, she can still feel the ghostly sensation of her finger throbbing for god's sake.

Beside, as long as her dress is good then it's fine.

She woke up that morning feeling all better, her muscles has been relieved of all stiffness and her vision finally orientated with the world around her but most importantly her Aura has been mostly recovered thus granting her healing capability back.

Just like the hole on her abdomen, almost all of her major injuries are gone. She doesn't exactly sure how but whatever or whoever responsible for it Ruby was grateful although they or it missed her more smaller injuries, leaving her Aura to do the job.

_Who am I to complain though..._

She has plans in mind regarding where she has to go and what to do later, resupplying almost instantly took its first place on her list considering how low she is on everything currently. In fact the biscuits she ate were the last pack of her stock and her medical supply has been running out of bandages and antiseptics ever since her last battle with Salem, attempting to patch a hole in your body tend to do that to you.

Finishing up with her work, Ruby wear her battle dress back. Straightening the wrinkles and dusting any dirt on it. Thankfully any blood mark on it is gone, any wonder how it is what it is lost among the other mysteries regarding who or what bringing her back because Ruby is pretty sure her mother doesn't have the ability to bring people back to life. She doesn't need to went through what she had gone through if her mother could and all of this time travel misadventure would be pointless in the beginning.

Her reason is a selfish one, why she did not give it a second thought when her mother told her the offer. Ruby just want one thing even if it was not exactly for herself; to grant her younger self a chance to live happily Ruby didn't have in her own timeline. This time she will help herself and do everything in her power to preserve that innocence she lost during the time of war, to prevent those very same Silver Eyes from seeing and witnessing what a desperate man can do which hers unfortunately had.

These dark thoughts are a dangerous territory Ruby kept at the far corner of her mind, sometime she locked it away but sometime especially times like these when she was alone and started questioning herself she would bring those thoughts and relished the feeling of _knowing_ why she keep fighting this far.

_Salem must be defeated, and her puppets need to be eliminated with extreme prejudice, preferably soon._

Her hands fumbled with her ammunition belt around her waist, unclasping the metallic holder Ruby then put it on the ground. Her eyes roamed on the various bullet types secured on it, silently assessing her supply of special ammunition.

She need distraction less she want to tear the place apart or worse cutting the whole forest down.

_Five more red tips, two blue and seven black tips... I must replenish my supply soon._

These ammunitions are special not because they are _special _but because Ruby made them by herself. The red tip ones are bullets enhanced with Red Dust, also known as Fire Dust. When it fired and hit its target it will explode and burn through anything the target was composed of thanks to its extreme heat and high explosive characteristics. Very effective against a large number of enemy in small area.

The blue ones are more simpler, much like its red colored brethren the blue ones will also explode but instead of burning everything it will freeze the target or targets in a crystal of ice, Ruby also modified it to fit both Proximity and Timed Fuse so when she needs a distraction she can use it as a makeshift smoke bomb.

Now her favorite ones, the last but not least are the dark tips. This type won't blind or set her target on fire, instead it will punch a hole through anything and she meant _anything_ that could be penetrated. A combination result between Gravity Dust and High Impact Sniper Rifle firepower is a devastasting one. Of course it's not like the usual Gravity rounds as she called it, this one she fitted with Proximity Fuse. So instead of blowing her back when she shoot it the round will just shot forward like a normal bullet, only when the target is close enough the Dust would kick in and do its magic and drill through. She knew because she had one-shot a Paladin with it before.

Satisfied, Ruby done the belt back around her middle and check on her normal ammunitions instead, frowning when it was revealed she only has twenty-ish more bullets in four full magazines and a half full.

_So, medical supply, consumption and ammunitions are low then..._ _I could always hunt for food though, no problem. _

Those were not all she had to buy though.

Putting the mags back to their holster around her thighs, Ruby's eyes lingered on Crescent Rose sprawled on its Scythe form on her left, or more specifically its dented and missing blades.

_Right, should fix that too._

She had stripped Crescent Rose from all of its attachments to do a full scale check-up. Scope, flashlight and laser sight all set on its side. One attachment in particular was set differently from the other though, a half cylindrical object colored in red with black strips adorning it from the middle down.

This attachment is probably one of Ruby's greatest achievement in weapon building. It's not just an addition for Crescent Rose no, it's the heart and second soul of her Scythe.

Years of combat experience and weapon crafting made Ruby think of a way to make Crescent Rose more lethal and adaptable in various combat scenarios, countless ideas were brought back to drawing board one night with her baby pluses and minuses as main points of consideration. The fact that Crescent Rose can't be used in cramped space and how ineffective its Sniper form in close quarter thanks to its type being a bolt-action had Ruby almost tear her hair out in frustration. She had have the idea of using gas discharge to transform Crescent Rose to semi-auto but then a new problem popped up in a form she had never expected.

Crescent Rose is a giant Scythe too.

Using a gas discharge semi-auto mechanism won't be a problem in normal rifle, but for Crescent Rose which has a very complex transformation process it would never be a possibility to begin with. It simply can't hold both barrel and the discharge chamber while transforming together and even if it did the system would be too fragile and an impact from enemy attack could set a breach and fail the whole components altogether.

So instead she settled with one final option; by using electric Dust Powered discharging mechanism. Of course she still had to modify Crescent Rose, in fact it was so major she could just replace her weapon with a new one. Ruby would rather die twice than do that though.

Still, it might have fixed the whole bolt-action problem by turning her Sniper rifle to a what can be described as an oversized DMR. But the whole closed space battle still a problem for her even with her new semi-auto Sniper rifle. She could use Crescent Rose Sniper form as a battering stick but that would be ungraceful and highly ineffective.

And so Ruby settled back to drawing board, this time however it's not for Crescent Rose but rather her new electric discharger. She decided if she wanted this to work out then she had to create a new weapon, one that won't replace her Scythe but the one that will have the capability to work alongside her baby and work alone when needed to.

Then Cleaver Rose was borned, a rapid fire discharger powered by Red Dust crystal that was also a Dust-infused Power Blade.

Right now however it's stay on its dormant form, a seemingly harmless half cylindrical object. However in actuality it was anything but, when activated a long blade would extend forward from its top directly opposite where the stripes are. In addition to its already sharp edges, the Dust in its hilt can be used to power up the blade, coating the black pointed metal with red-ish aura that increased both endurance and cutting power.

The similiar thing can be done with Crescent Rose when it was attached to it.

Ruby huffed, blowing a strand of deep crimson hair covering half of her face. She has been considering to cut it for some time now because of how annoying it was, but recent events didn't give her the luxury of time to do it. She has resembled her mother so much Ruby seriously didn't need another one of Summer's feature on her.

Picking Cleaver Rose from the ground, she pushed a button responsible for extending and retracting its blade. Ruby positioned its sharp edge infront of her face with one hand while her other pinch her red locks in place, careful not to cut her eyes instead.

She was about to push the blade when goosebumps wash over her and she froze in place. That feeling is back, the very same feeling she got whenever she walk in a dark place only to have someone jumped and tried to kill her, the feeling of being watch by malicious eyes.

Her grip shifted on her weapon, Silver Eyes lingered on Crescent Rose's disassembled form for a second before they shifted to her surrounding area. Her Scythe won't do, she has to make it with Cleaver Rose for this one.

A deep growl from her left was the only warning Ruby got before an Ursa crashed on her, sending her flying from her sitting position. She groan in pain when her back hit a tree, stopping her from the momentum. She shook her head when her eyes adjusted on her assailant and see instead of one there's a whole pack of Ursa glaring and growling at her.

_Okay, I didn't think I hit my head... Why the hell there's so much of them?_

Whatever questions she has has to wait when one of the Grimm sped forward in all four of its legs toward her, kicking dust and grass on its wake. Ruby barely had time to jump away from its path, the Ursa hitted the tree and crumpled it down instead.

The fall shook the forest floor, startling all animal on the area and shattered the afternoon calmness. When the dust settled, Ruby found herself staring at an Ursa Major lumbering form as it slowly rose to its two legs, glaring at her with all the hate and malice.

Ruby smirked, flicking Cleaver Rose to activate its special feature. The Dust-infused Power Blade live up its name when it begun to glow red, so bright it lit up the grass under it with crimson light.

Fixing her stance, The Huntress in Red shot forward through the air, leaving red rose petals in the process. A moment later she appeared back directly infront of the Major, sending a roundhouse kick to its side.

The creature of darkness stumbled from the impact, howling in anger and pain it then tried to retaliate by sweeping one of its giant paws toward her. Ruby tapped on her Semblance once again, disappearing from her previous position only to appeared on its back.

Grabbing on one of its bony spike-like appendages attached to its back she then jumped to the air, twisting her body to gain up momentum. Cleaver Rose pointed down, she drive its pointed tip to her opponent's head, bypassing any armor and muscle in one single strike.

The Ursa Major flailed its big arms before it slowly slumped forward, gurgling as its body start to dematerialized to the thin air in a small cloud of black smoke. Ruby ripped her blade from what little remain of the Ursa Major, glancing around her surrounding where the other Ursas are becoming uncertain.

She stepped down from the corpse, still glaring toward the other Grimm, daring them to make the first move. "Well c'mon, are you guys going to make a girl wait more or what"

As if understanding her challenge they start to bent low and growl deeper, ready to pounce at the woman in red. Their pathetic attempt to intimidate her only serve to amuse Ruby more, most Grimm would think twice before attacking her back in the future even the younger ones which were supposed to be dumb. But these pack members are not and will soon figured out why they should have never messed with her.

Afterall, she was known by many names and Red Reaper was one of those names for a reason.

Taking a deep breath, Ruby grip Cleaver Rose with both hands infront of her. Years of training kicked in less than a second later and she found herself tensing when a sudden rush of a familiar feeling of adrenaline running down her veins finally surfacing.

She could vaguely hear a voice of a long lost friend in the back of her mind when the first Ursa rushed forward.

_"Sword play are different in many aspects, unlike your Scythe which relied more to brute force it require more precision approach and control"_

_"So, it's like sniping then?"__"In a way yes, in a lot of ways no. You don't need to move constantly when sniping your enemy"_

_"Hm... Think you can train me?"_

_"Why me? you can ask Weiss or Jaune, especially Jaune considering how good he is"_

_"But I didn't mean sword **sword**! I mean Katana, Blake!"_

_Blake stared at her with a raised eyebrow "A Katana?"_

_"Yes, duh"_

_Her friend continue to stare for a bit longer as if contemplating over something before she finally shrugged "Okay then, mind telling me why?"_

_"Well... You see..."_

The voices stopped when Ruby felt her blade cutted through the Ursa, slicing it to half. Not wasting any more time, she flipped away to nearby Grimm, ducking low to avoid its paw she then stab it at directly where its stomach is. With a grunt, she pushed her blade up side with all of her might, tearing the creature in two.

Black substances pooling on her feet, she dashed away and started doing short work on the remaining Grimms, slicing and slashing at every offending forces in the area with swift and effective strikes. Soon, it was only her left standing, breathing heavily and gripping Cleaver Rose so hard her knuckles turned white.

It always been like this, her being the only one left after a battle. It would have been a good thing when facing an entire army of Grimm, but in different circumstances...

She suddenly turned around on her heels, weapon raised high when a dying Ursa rose to its feet and tried to mauled her with its claws. But before her blade could make contact its head suddenly exploded as a familiar sound of Crescent Rose firing resonated in the air.

_Wait-what?_

"HEY YOU OKAY THERE?!"

Ruby froze in place as dread suddenly fill her chest.

_No no no not this fast! I can't dammit!_

"Miss Huntress?"

The Huntress in question turn to face the source of the commotion, paying utmost attention to her younger self's face as it twisted from concerned to surprised and finally settled in recognition. Ruby felt her heart clenched when a look of happiness and hope shone on those very same Silver Eyes.

"Mom?"

**_TBC_**

**Cliffhanger's a bitch lol.**

**Don't worry, if you guys wondering what the eef mini-Ruby doing there you will figure it out on the next chapter. I could always make a longer chapter, easily 6k words but I don't want to squeeze it**.

**Also I might have overdone it a little regarding future version of Crescent Rose and its special attachment, but really this is what I've been thinking regarding Ruby's weapon. As awesome as it was it still has flaws I found myself aching to fix.**

**I personally dislike it when a story dedicated a whole chapter just to introduce a character, that's why I slowly reveal how Ruby looks like by adding more details about her or in this case her weapons with each chapters as the story progress. So no, it's not like I forgot how I imagined Ruby will looks like, this is just my writing style.**

**Responses for reviews**

**_JackTheSpades:_ Sorry for that, mate. I will leave it to you guys' imagination why Ruby woke up in the afterlife in her 15 year old body though. Maybe it was because during that time was her happiest time? perhaps, or it's because she had special case of *cough* something? hmm...**

**_Jeff goldblum69:_** **She technically had revealed herself but [EXPUNGED BECAUSE OF SPOILER]**

**_herpaderp1028 and Robbie 2_****_413:_** **Well here it is! hope I did not disappoint you both.**

**_merendinoemiliano:_**** Sorry to inform you but I don't think that would happen until future chapters.**

**Special thanks to ArthurSG for offering to help me, really mate thank you very much. I will ask questions when I get lost or missing a detail regarding RWBY Canon but for now you can just settle down and enjoy.**

**And that would be it, again please leave a review.**

**Cipher032 out!**


	4. Chapter 4: Left Behind

**_DISCLAIMER: RWBY BELONG TO ROOSTER TEETH AND ITS ORIGINAL CREATOR MOUNTY OUM (May he rest in peace)._**

**Please enjoy and review.**

**Chapter 4: Left Behind**

"I still don't understand..."

"Ugh, for countless time already Yang, Headmaster Ozpin must have his reason!"

"You think so? maybe he enjoy watching people _suffer_ for all we know!"

"I think Weiss has a point though, doing a mission is not just about getting in, you have to find your way out too"

"Blake! how could you side with Weiss?! I'm your partner not her!"

"Great, you have just been a partner with her for... what? two hours? and you already pulled that card"

Ruby ignored her two new friends' banter with her sister for most of the time, skipping ahead of them to look out for the area for any sign of Grimm. She still can't believe she had just _decapitated _a honest to God Nevermore while running on a cliffside and while it's been almost half an hour since then the excitement of the realization itself still running high in her veins, promptly making her want to beat some Grimm even more.

The other three people that accompanied Jaune strode a little bit behind them. One girl with orange hair, Nora is her name, has a boy in green outfit supported in one arm while her other flailed around as she speak to both Jaune and Pyrrha about something from her childhood with the said boy constantly correcting the hammer-slash-grenade launcher wielder.

Ruby noted in concern how the boy, Ren, limped forward. He did a good job trying to mask the pain but it will slipped here and there on his face in a form of small grimace whenever he think no one was watching. After running around the whole forest killing and evading Grimms it would be normal for him to have his Aura dangerously low especially after that Deathstalker's attack nearly broke his spine, leaving the boy has so little Aura his body just can't repair the damage fast enough.

She had a suspicion Nora's actions were meant as distraction to keep people attention away from her partner.

"Yes, but what's so difficult in sending a.. I dunno, a Bullhead per say to help us? I bet none of our fellow students encountered a Deathstalker _and_ a Nevermore"

Ruby sighed.

"Yang, the fact we just did is a consideration point they might too" she pointed out, fixing her hood around her shoulders and plucking a stray leaf from it.

The blonde brawler paused, brows furrowed together in thought before a grin broke up on her face. "You know, that sounds logical, I'll bite"

"Oh for the love of... We've been arguing over this for minutes and all it takes for Ruby to convince you is a sentence?!"

"Well, that's a Xiao Long's determination to messed up with people for you, Ice Queen" Yang laughed loudly, not noticing the growl Weiss sent her way or the amused albeit impressed look Blake gave her.

The heiress' glare shifted to her partner instead when she realised her attempt to intimidate the blonde had better chance to succeeded in making a wall scampering away. "And you! You knew all this time she just messing around with me?!"

Feeling rather than seeing the accusing finger pointed on her back, Ruby shrugged in response. "Yang's a thrill seeker, she won't missed the chance to track a whole forest and kick some butt in the process" She stopped, turning around with her arms crossed infront of her chest before fixing her sister with a stern look. "As for the record, she like to mess with people a lot so don't take it personally"

Her older sister practically threw herself and put Ruby in a playful head lock as response to her words. "D'awww don't tell people my greatest secret, sis!"

"Agh! Yang let me go!" Ruby squirmed, thrashing and kicking under her sister spine-crushing hug. She stomped on one of her sister's foot hard enough to flatten a bone but the response her sister gave is more laughter as she lifted her off the ground.

"Hey guys, what the commo-woah!" Jaune appeared on Weiss' side, only to duck down when a pair of combat boots almost smash him on the face when Yang spin a not so good looking Ruby on her arms around.

"Help me" The red haired girl whimpered when the world finally stop spinning around her, eyes directed to both Jaune and Weiss searching for pity, anything to make this unimaginable torment to stop.

Weiss scoffed and crossed her arms while Jaune seems conflicted wether he should help prying Ruby free and risked himself being trampled by Yang or watch and see while he lost a friend.

Thankfully the answer came when the ground they stood on shook and a smoke of dust rose not so far from them, drawing Yang and everyone attention toward it. The blonde girl unceremoniously dropped her little sister to the forest floor, staring at the billowing dust with a frown. "What the hell was that?"

Ruby groaned, picking herself up and follow her sister's gaze. Silver Eyes wide open in surprise before a grin broke on her face, this is it, this is what she has been waiting for! More Grimm and fighting!

"Dunno but I'm going to check it" In a flash of red and rose petals she was gone, leaving her friends and partner to stare at where she was incredulously.

"Ruby wait!" Yang reached out futilely to halt her sister but it's too late since Ruby has long gone from her side, with a sigh of exasperation she turned to the rest of their companions. "Jaune, you Pyrrha along with Ren and Nora go ahead and report to Professor Ozpin or Glynda or whoever in charge. We've been gone for too long and I don't want them to start running around saying we're dead or something"

"What about you?" he replied with a hint of uncertainty in his tone, he is not so keen with the idea of splitting up after what had happened.

Yang pointed with her thumb toward where Ruby has gone to. "Isn't that obvious? I'm going to bring my sister back from whatever madness happening over there" And by bring she meant dragging Ruby by her hood while rambling about why she should have never sped away like that again or else she will banned her from her cookies supply for a whole week.

She couldn't find any better threat that would work on her favor.

"But-"

"Jaune is it? Don't worry there are four of us and we can handle ourselves. You go ahead and provide that boy Ren with medical help" After opting to be silent Blake finally spoke out to back her partner up, she knew how it felt to lose an important person and the thought of her new partner experiencing it first hand did not go well with her. She is trying to redeem herself and this is one of her starting step.

As if finally registering Ren's condition, a look of understanding passed over Jaune's face along with concern. He nodded hesitantly toward Yang before jogging away back to Pyrrha and his other two friends.

"C'mon, I need to give a piece of my mind to your dunce of sister" Weiss state bluntly, brandishing her rapier in one hand she sped forward after Ruby with one of her glyphs propelling her.

Yang smirked, giving Blake a grateful smile before following suit after the heiress.

Meanwhile a certain red head continue to dash forward to her destination with a big grin of excitement on her face. Crescent Rose craddled in both hands on its Sniper form, Ruby burst through the foliage and rolled gracefully before coming to stop, eyes scanning the surrounding area for any sign of Grimm.

The first thing she noticed however was not the scene, but rather the reeked smell of dissolving Grimm's flesh. A bitter and almost burning sensation assaulted her in the back of her throat and Ruby found herself swallowing hard to get rid of the strange taste. No matter how often she felt it she would never get used to the scent.

And then there was the sight, an utter destruction with dead Grimms littered the ground, black smoke slowly emitting from their carcasses and torn skins with exposed muscles and insides spilled about. Some of them were in the most gruesome state Ruby had ever seen, missing heads and limbs are just small examples compared to those which completely chopped off they became unrecognizeable muddle of black blocky parts.

She had only seen this kind of work once, back when she was a toddler and got ambushed by a pack of Beowolves during Yang's little misadventure to look out for her mother. Back then it was Uncle Qrow who mercilessy slayed the Grimms, he was so angry he completely slaughtered every single Beowolf without his usual quirky and smug attitude presence for once.

Her Uncle never made her feel terrified before.

Ruby took a step forward, reluctantly and mindful with the dead Grimms around her. Weapon aimed ahead and chamber loaded, she scanned around the area using Crescent Rose's scope, finger at the trigger and ready to unleash a .50 caliber Dust-enhanced bullet at anything stupid enough to jump on her.

Her steps faltered however when her path led her to a small clearing, like before it didn't go unscatched by the sheer annihiliation power. However unlike the previous area a single living being stood still and alive, back facing her and breathing heavily while gripping a very cool looking sword in one hand.

It was a Huntress

Her smile vanished and a frown replaced it, brows furrowed together in confusion Ruby about to call the said Huntress and ask what is she doing here when suddenly one of the Ursa she thought was dead twitched and rose to its feet, mouth wide open with razor-sharp teeth exposed ready to bite the Huntress' head off.

Making a split-second decision, she scooped up Crescent Rose and take aim to the offending threat, slowing down her breathing and lining up her shot in one swift movement. Ruby felt Crescent Rose's recoil kicked back against her shoulder as a familiar and rather satisfying sound of her High-Impact Sniper Scythe firing filled the small clearing followed by a cartridge ejecting out.

The Ursa's head exploded in a cloud of black mist as its body slowly slumping backward and went still, definitely not going to wake up anytime soon or waking up back for that matter.

Feeding another bullet to her weapon's firing chamber, Ruby jogged forward to the Huntress, paying more attention to the dead Grimms around her in case they are not so dead than they looked.

When she think she had reached hearing distance Ruby screamed at the top of her lungs, gaining the mysterious Huntress' attention. "HEY YOU OKAY THERE?!"

To her confusion however the woman suddenly went rigid and tensed up, as if startled by her voice. The sudden motion caused Ruby to stop in her tracks and double-taking the woman's appearances in case she misinterpreted the meaning of her sudden stillness.

"Miss Huntress?" She tried again, softer and a bit uncertain. The whole situation made Ruby nervous and the fact that a Grimm might jumped out and bite her off only serve as a fuel for her agitation.

Eventually time flow back to its original pace as the woman infront of her slowly turned around to face her and Ruby let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. The tension was so much she could feel it in the air.

_But why though?_

The answer came almost immediately when their gazes met.

Ruby felt her heart skip a beat as shock run down her spine, the very first thing she noticed was a deep dark red hair that covered half of the Huntress' face, obscuring one of her _Silver Eyes_ from the rest of the world. The similiar Silver Eyes she always seen whenever she stared at bathroom mirror in the morning.

There was only one person Ruby knew who had those dark red locks and Silver Eyes other than herself, and the last time she remembered that person is gone, dead for the rest of the world.

"Mom?" Her voice shook as tears started to gather at the corner of her eyes, people don't need to know but under those cheerful and happy-to-go attitude is a lonely girl yearning for her mother's long lost love.

She took a hasty step forward as hot liquid start to run down her cheeks which she ignored, nothing is matter other than the fact that her mother is here healthy and very much alive. "Mom, where have you been? Why don't you come back? I miss you so much you-"

Whatever she was about to say died in her throat when her mother suddenly vanished in a flurry of red rose petals, leaving Ruby to stare at the place where the person was at with wide eyes and half raised hand that was reaching forward.

Hurt and confusion blossomed in her chest, Ruby fell to her bottom and start crying to her knees, whimpering "Please come back" and "Don't leave me again " repeatedly between chokes and sobs.

Perhaps if she was a bit perceptive she would have noticed a look of panic the person she think was her mother had, but being perceptive when her emotions washed over her like a tsunami was downright impossible.

Ruby is not sure how long she stayed there but it felt like an eternity later did she feel another presence in the area.

Gentle hands pulled her to a hug, she nuzzled her face to a lock of blonde hair, still crying in her sister's warm embrace.

"Sshhh... It's okay. You're safe now, Rubes" Yang used the old nickname Summer gave Ruby when she was a kid as a comforting manner, it usually worked in calming her sister down but for some unknown reason it seemingly only aggravated her even more this time.

Yang was not sure with what would she find when she bursted through the tree line but a crying Ruby around Grimm's corpses was definitely not in her list. She knew her little sister was deep in emotions when she saw Crescent Rose lay abandoned on the ground not far from her hunching form, she usually didn't just leave her weapon like that unless it's a special circumstance.

Only when the blonde get to near her sister did she realize how serious this was.

She had sent Blake and Weiss to search around the area when the first sign of a battle had taken place appeared, wiping the mischievous smile off her face and instead causing red alarm to blare inside her head the moment Yang noticed that the dead Grimms scattered around were not Ruby's work.

The cuts were simply too clean and precised, something Crescent Rose not suitable for.

When her sister's crying was replaced with mere hiccups and sniffs Yang slowly push the smaller girl from the embrace, careful while keeping her hands on Ruby's shoulders she stare at those red and puffy Silver Eyes which were her sister's.

"Talk to me, Ruby" Yang urge softly, mindful to not using the nickname less she want to make her sister cry again.

The red hooded girl gave one last sniff before she replied in a low yet hoarsed tone. Yang had to strain her ears to hear what her sister said but when the unclear words finally registered by her mind she felt her heart clenched painfully.

"I saw Mom... She... She was here but when I reached out to her she just... gone... and... and" _She just left me again_.

The thought made Ruby cried even more, after all of this year the first thing her mother did to her was leaving her behind again. She vaguely felt Yang hug her again and she found herself clinging at her older sister for dear life, desperate for her comforting warm.

The said older sister caressed the red head almost absentmindedly, the thought that _Summer Rose_ leaving her family and daughters to live on her own just like _her _mother grind every other thoughts to halt. She felt angry, confused and most importantly betrayed by the revealation but as she glance down at the girl between her arms she know she couldn't lose her cool.

_Yet_.

Out of the corner of her eyes Yang caught a flash of white strolling toward them amidst the black and green of the scenery. Violet eyes met icy blue, Yang sent Weiss a look that said she need a bit more time.

The white haired girl about to protest until she noticed a bundle of red fabric pressed against the blonde's front. A look of understanding passed on her face before she slowly nod and return back to the tree line, providing the pair a bit of privacy.

"Where's Yang?" Blake asked when Weiss appeared back beside her.

"She's with Ruby"

"Is Ruby okay?" _What took the sisters so long?_. Certainly the dead Grimms didn't cause them trouble did they?

"I'm... not sure to be honest"

The reluctant answer Weiss gave her spark off a feeling of worry in Blake's chest, Weiss hadn't shown any form of hesitation before even when facing that enormous Nevermore. The fact that the Schnee's heiress seemingly unsure with the situation didn't sit well with her.

"Weiss..." The ravenette trailed off, letting the question hung in the air. She need clarification and she is going to get it.

Thankfully the white haired girl understand the meaning behind her simple tone, with a dismissive wave of her hand she explained. "They are fine, but Ruby is crying and I'm not sure why" She paused, gathering her thought before continuing "Maybe she was just being dramatic"

Blake glare at the other girl in disapproval. The lack of sympathy Weiss had for the younger girl upset her and she had half the mind to deck her here and there just to knock some sense through that thick skull of Schnee. Ruby didn't strike her as a kind of person to be an overdramatic, hyperactive and loud maybe but not so lavish when it comes to feeling.

Weiss felt the look of distaste Blake gave her but she paid it no mind, Blake didn't need to know but she's been having this feeling of peturbation since she saw Ruby in Yang's embrace. How messy and _broken_ the red head was, a contrast difference with the enthusiastic and seemingly always cheerful girl she used to be.

Not wanting to dwell on the subject anymore, she try another one that was just as important. "Have you found anything else?"

Blake blinked, snapping herself out of her angry trance, discarding the thought and plans to make the heiress' life miserable during her time in Beacon if she continue to have that inapprorpriately poor attitude to the back of her mind she then reply. "Aside from this big Scythe that closely resemble Ruby's and that red hood hung not so high above it which also suspiciously looks like Ruby's too? nope"

"Making hypothesises already, aren't we?"

"I know what I see when I see it"

"And what do you see?"

Blake crouched down near the red and black colored Scythe, paying utmost attention ot its details and disassembled parts and attachments she come to a conclusion. "A badly damaged weapon, definitely a Scythe and presumably a Rifle or Sniper as secondary form based from it having a scope as one of its attachment. Blades dent and missing probably from hitting hard targets"

She shifted the weapon, straining a bit when she felt how heavy it actually is. "Recoil Pad's missing, possibly fell off when firing or in duel" Fumbling with the magazine release button, Blake then cocked the now empty weapon to check its firing chamber for any left out bullet. Grateful she did when it's revealed there was indeed a round fed and ready to be fired.

The bullet ejected and Blake locked the pin in place to keep it from jumping forward, studying the firing chamber she felt her brows drawn together to a frown "The chamber is charred, proof suggested a continued firing of Fire Dust enhanced ammunition for long period of time" Normal bullets won't do that to your weapon since the combustion was smokeless.

Weiss picked the fallen ammunition and bring it close to her eyes level, staring at it in disbelief. "What kind of enemy required repeated firing of a weapon this powerful in order to be defeated? And how do you know to operate it?"

Blake froze mid-inspecting the weapon barrel, she couldn't tell Weiss about her past. The heiress would take an instant hate to her and there will be conflict if Weiss knew she was a member of White Fang, the very same organization that had caused the SDC to lost billions worth of Liens.

During her time as a member Blake had had instense training about weapons, how to operate conventional weapons like Assault Rifle or in this case a Sniper Rifle were a part of the said training. She didn't want to think of the fact that the first thing a supposedly peaceful organization taught to its new members was how to use a weapon.

So she settled with the half truth, one that was a borderline in between. "I learned a lot from books" _and experience_ left unsaid. "Also it must be something strong, an ancient type of Grimm maybe" She quickly added in hope to change the subject about his past. "And this definitely a Sniper"

Her companion eyed her for a bit longer before she nodded slowly, the stare itself unnerved Blake because of how _neutral_ it was. Seriously, Weiss can be so impassive when she wanted to. "What about the hood?"

"See it for yourself" Blake snatched the red material off the tree branch and handed it to Weiss, fully aware the white haired girl couldn't reach it on her own.

Item in hands, Weiss' calculative pale blue eyes study the passed garment. Noting how unkempt and damaged it was at the back of her mind. It seems like the hood had seen a better day and whoever own it must have has it for years. She turned it inside out, squinting at a faded sentence printed under its collar trying to make out the words with no avail. She fairly certain it has something to do with summer and rose?

Whatever it was, it has to wait when two pairs of footsteps approach from where she came from before, one smaller than the other.

"Hey guys!" Yang greeted her and her sister's partner with a grin on her face that did not quite reach her eyes. "So what is it?"

Weiss and Blake shared a glance.

"We've... found something... Well, two somethings actually"

Blake stepped aside, revealing the sprawled weapon to the two newcomers. Ruby who strangely seems distant suddenly had her interest spiked up the moment her eyes landed on the giant of weapon. She brushed past Blake, kneeling and staring at the weapon with wide eyes.

"Could it be...?" she muttered, not loud enough for human ears to listen but definitely suffice for Faunus.

Especially a cat Faunus like Blake.

Her bow twitched slightly at Ruby's small yet surprised tone, the red head has her hands trailing along the weapon's shaft as if testing the metal, brows furrowed together in confusion. "It felt... familiar"

"What was that supposed to mean?" Weiss chimed in, arms crossed in a posture that demand explanation.

"Every Hunters or Huntresses weapons always have a bit of their owner Aura left on it. A weapon is an extension of one's self while the Aura is one's soul, combined it can be considered as a second you"

Yang flicked her blonde hair while both Weiss and Blake just stare at her sister in wonder. That explanation actually was an aggravated version of what her Uncle told them but no less true, it was just one of Ruby's excuse why she like weapons so much especially her own and Yang had to agree with the idea though not so much to that extent. She still consider Ember Celica as mere tools and nothing more.

"You said it was familiar... So who is it belong to?" Blake asked, genuinely intrigued. She knew about the theory Ruby spoke of, the whole truth is not as pretty as what the smaller girl said but she like how Ruby visioned it. Because the truth is that was one of few ways to identify a dead Hunter or Huntress, by using their left over Aura on their weapon since some deaths are not so pretty.

"I..." _Images of warm smiles and tender gazes filled her vision, a ghostly sensation of fingers tracing her hair as she laid under a shady tree assaulted her sense_. _The smell were familiar ones, of strawberies and baked cookies along with a bit of unique and sweet roses scent._

Ruby shuddered when a wave of cool air washed over the area, pulling her hood closer to cover herself she continue. "I'm not sure but... we can't just leave it here"

Weiss handed the red fabric she had folded to Yang when she noticed the inquisitive gaze she gave her. "But we also can't just take a stranger's weapon with us! You implied it yourself that this weapon belong to someone, so what if he or she return only to find out their weapon is gone?!"

"It was a she actually"

"...What?"

"It was a she. I met a Huntress here before you all arrived"

"You what? but who... I mean exactly! what if she return?!" _There was a Huntress? but what was she doing here?_

"She won't"

Out of the corner of her eyes Blake saw her partner flinched at Ruby's simple words, the blonde tried to cover it by pretending to examine the red hood in her hands but Blake saw it clearly.

She made a mental note to ask her later.

"How could you be so sure?!"

"I'm not. But we can't just leave it here, what if someone steal it?"

"Oh so we are not _stealing _it?"

Ruby sighed in exasperation, apparently trying to reason with Weiss was just as hard as cocking Crescent Rose's jammed chamber. She need to smooth things out first and what's better than sounding logical? "If she return we can just leave a note and tell her to take it at Beacon then we can give it back there"

_And probably I could do some talking with her then._

"Weiss, just trust Ruby with this one would you?" Yang spoke out with even tone. Her sister has something in mind and she want to know what is it.

_"Fine" _The heiress hissed in annoyance and Ruby shrank when her icy blue gaze shifted to her. "But if we pretty much get a stare from any of the teachers or worse Headmaster Ozpin for it then it would be on you" With that she stomped away from the area, leaving a dejected Ruby and a disapproving Blake to stare at her retreating form.

"Why can't you just believe me" Ruby mumbled sadly, picking the weapon parts and attachments off the ground before disposing it on a makeshift carrying bag that was her hood.

Feeling the younger girl's distress Blake made a move to help her gathering the parts. "Don't take it to the heart. That was just how Weiss is''

The ravenette paused, carefully holding a piece of blade in her hands. There were dried red and black specks on its dull ends, ones that was behind whatever compenents holding the blade supposed to be. Shooting the blonde brawler a concerned look only to had the said blonde already looking back between the blade and her face in equally worry expression

Blake bristled.

_These are blood marks!_

She is not stranger to it of course, but seeing it on someone else's weapon in such condition which suggested hasn't been cleaned for long period of time disturb her. Even she always clean Gambol Shroud occasionally, fully aware that the stain itself is corrosive. Though the main reason was because having someone's blood on her weapon only served her as reminder of her sins.

Yang snatched the blade off her hands, so fast she almost cut herself in the process, paying no attention at Blake unimpressed stare before hiding the sharp metal at her back. Her little sister couldn't know that a Huntress just killed something that wasn't Grimm, praying to whatever deities above that the stain marks were animals blood and not human or else...

"Yang can you lend me a hand here?" lilac eyes shifted to Ruby's hunched form, Yang passed the red hood back to Blake with one hand while the other stayed behind her to keep the blade hidden.

"Sure, what is it?"

"The transformation mechanism has a fail safe to prevent it from collapsing while the weapon is not fully assembled to avoid damaging its components, I need to bypass it so we can carry it easier. I want you to press hard in here" Ruby pointed at a... _something_ Yang couldn't comprehend.

"That's all?" She looked around the area, searching for somewhere to dispose the blade. Thankfully Blake understood her intention and take it from her palm before retreating to the tree line. With a sigh full of relief, she mustered the best grin she can manage and settled down on her sister's side whom tinkered on another something the blonde didn't even bother to comprehend.

"On the count of three no matter what happen just let go okay?"

"What do you mean with no matter what happen-"

"THREE!"

Yang yelped and fell to her bottom when the weapon suddenly make strange mechanical noises that suspiciously sounds like its about to explode in a shower of bolts and springs while shifting to its compact form, so fast it almost chopped her fingers off.

Ruby laughed at her sister's antic, a sweet song to Yang's degrading mood. With a half-hearted grumble she had the younger girl between her arm in another playful headlock. "Oh my did you just prank your older sister? Make no mistake this declaration of war will not go unanswered"

Ruby squirmed and try to wrestle her way out between giggles. "Wha... No! I told you to _Yang_ your hands away!" They shared another fit of laughter to the terrible pun until a very angry looking Weiss stalked back to their position.

"What on Remnant are you both doing?! I thought someone is dying!"

Ruby wheezed, finally freeing herself from her sister's assault to sat upright. "That... Might be half true" she said between breathless giggle.

"Dolt! You really are excel at wasting time! We've been here for half an hour and I'm certain Headmaster Ozpin will appreciate it if we reduce the time he spends waiting for a group of new students in the middle of nowhere!"

Yang jumped to her feet, holding her hands up in placating manner "Woah calm down Weiss" The heiress look red from anger which is something to be worry about considering how white her skin usually was. The blonde afraid her sister's partner would explode here and there if she didn't defuse the situation

Sensing the situation, Ruby quickly throw her red hood which is now poorly wrapped around the weapon parts to her sister still raised hands. Now cloakless the girl look smaller than her usual appearance but look can be deceitful. Her strength still the same which can be proven by how casual she lifted the weapon off the ground.

"Yang parts, Weiss direction and Blake..." She trailed off, glancing around the area in confusion and panic. "Oh no Blake is missing!"

Before Ruby could start freaking out a shadowy figure emerged from behind a tree, creeping slowly before stopping next to a certain blonde haired girl. "No I was not"

Yang jumped in surprise, nearly dropping the items between her hands. "Blake!"

"Oh, sorry I didn't notice you there" Ruby said with a flush of embarassment.

"It's okay, I can be so _silent_ when I wanted to" Yang smirked at the implication, casting her partner a thankful look which she return with a small nod.

"Right, so Blake will be our scout"

Weiss crossed her arms, the red haired girl can be so bossy sometime and she didn't like it a bit. Just wait until Headmaster Ozpin announce her as their leader but for now she will simply endure and humour her.

"Let's go guys! off we go to Beacon Academy!"

Yang was the only one who cheered in response.

**_TBC_**

**Soooo I'm sorry for taking longer in updating this next chapter. But it's a double portion than the previous ones! Almost if not 6k of words, my usual count of chapter in writing story that wasn't a one-shot.**

**Anyway, in the next chapter we will return to adult Ruby. How she react and what she will do now knowing her beloved weapon and hood are gone, so stay tuned alright.**

**I have a bit of problem trying to potrayed Weiss character during earlier days of RWBY now I rewatched it, she has change so much in those 6 volumes I couldn't imagine they are the same person.**

**That little encounter adult Ruby had with those Ursas in previous chapter? I actually write it as an experiment. I haven't written RWBY fanfic before and I need to get a grasp of how the fight usually go down. Didn't mean I'm not unfamiliar in writing fight scene but things just felt different in writing about a human fighting monsters with human against other human.**

**Responses for reviews.**

**merendinoemiliano: Nah bro I specifically said Katana. Qrow's weapon (has the name been revealed yet or not?) is more to broadsword and Weiss' is a rapier. The three of them are different in usage, for example a rapier is not exactly sharp on edge but more pointed on its end while a Katana require more precision than strength which broadsword mainly need in wielding. Do you know during World War 2 Japanese soldiers used a lot type of Katanas? each forged differently and each has their own techniques.**

**I always** **believe Jaune has a great potential, he doesn't just survive because of luck. That determination and tenacity of his will pay him up one day, just be sure of it.**

**About Summer, well she will not play a big impact in this story so I didn't exactly plan on revealing so much about her. Both because of it and how little we know about her character so to avoid straying so much from canon than I already am I will not touch the subject. I actually like the idea of Qrow as Ruby's dad but like I said we will stay with what currently canon.**

**Jeff goldblum69: Dude that's how I keep things interesting lol.**

**JackTheSpades: Nope, neither lmao. Remember when I said that some time-travel fics did not 'quite reach my taste'? well, one of the reasons are how easily one's future self reveal that they are from the future. The last thing you want to do as time traveler is to meet your past self and basically say "Sup? I'm your future self who after went through some weird ass experiences suddenly got transfered to the past, but it's okay since the future was eef-ed anyway and I hope to fix it while bluntly revealing everything to you" Nooooo that would be uncool.**

**I will try fixing thing about 'convenience' in future chapter by adding more logical explanation about the show itself which somehow lack of so worry not. And yeah, I also like the idea of Ruby having longer hair since... I don't know, short hair is great and I personally like women with short hair but at least she has to be different in the future right?**

**Jason 169: Will do, mate. Just hope I don't die or something.**

**That was a joke.**

**Hopefully.**

**That concluded it, I'll see y'all in future chapters. Like usual please reviews, that was all I asked for to improve my story.**

**Cipher032 out!**


	5. Chapter 5: Decision

**_DISCLAIMER: RWBY BELONG TO ROOSTER TEETH AND ITS ORIGINAL CREATOR MOUNTY OUM (R.I.P)_**

**Enjoy and review**

**Chapter 5: Decision**

The world passed by her sides in a blur of green and black, wind screaming at her ears and leaves falling as she burst through in lightning speed. She paid them no mind, not while her only instinct told her to run and run until her legs finally give out under her body.

Judging from the pain however she know it won't be long until she crash to something.

_Pain, heh_.

Everything is hurt, her chest as her lungs tried to compensate her movement and keep her body fed with oxygen and her limbs and sides as she accidentally scratch on something along the way in her mad dash.

But what hurt the most was her heart. It felt like someone had ripped it open and stab it again and again only to stop to let it bleed out. The feeling was all too familiar, one she had encountered so much in the last five years of her life. Nevertheless she never get used to no matter what she did or tried to do to supress it. Because in the end she is not a cold-hearted person she pretended to be and showed the world as.

After her sister's demise, Ruby just shut down and never ever opened herself to anyone again. Her sister was the only one she had back then after Uncle Qrow and her Dad's final assignment gone downright awry and they never return.

It was night time, she had woken up from her slumber and found herself in white hospital room. Ruby only half-conscious and barely register her condition when Ironwood walked in looking all solemn and grim before he broke the news to her.

_"Gelb is down and confirmed KIA __in the line of duty_._ I'm sorry but we couldn't recover her body"_

Her world stopped then, and Ruby suddenly found herself in her two year old body staring at her Uncle's dishelved look in the middle of the night while her father was nowhere to be found. Frankly she didn't quite understand what her Uncle said but then Yang just cried so hard her wailing defeat even the thunderstorm raging outside their small house. Her older sister didn't stop crying until the morning afterward, but even then she always had this empty look on her face and a bit of sadness whenever she look at Ruby's face.

It scared her because she was confused. Her mother always told her to be careful with what she doesn't understand and to be wary with what she is not sure of, to always look stuff up first before doing a thing about it.

But she can't! She was just a kid back then and whenever she brought the subject of her mother Yang would cried even more and it only grew worse whenever she asked a seemingly simple question.

_"When will Mom come back? I miss her"_

Ruby tried to ask her father but the blond man refused to even look at her let alone talk, he would just turn around and left the house and didn't come back until next morning looking like a Beowolf had had him as a sleeping mattress.

She didn't understand, she didn't understand until three years later she realized her beloved and super strong mother is gone and would never come back to them. Uncle Qrow told them stories before, about how the best Hunters and Huntresses never come back because they were simply too good for this world and had to depart somewhere else where they can keep a watch to people they loved and keep them save from there.

Ruby instantly knew her mother was one of those people because her mother was the best person she had ever met, and she never felt so proud of her before albeit she also felt sad that her mother would never come back to them. But she was fine with it, her mother always wanted to help people out about everything and now she had found herself a place where she could do just that.

However when Yang was gone there were no stories to tell and no older sister to share a hug with. The only things she heard were Ironwood's fading footsteps and her soft whimpers as she silently cried for another loss in otherwise devastasted world. Alone without a naive way of thinking that a loss was just a way God said He loved the person He recalled from this world early.

_First loss was too many_...

Her feet eventually tripped on something hard and heavy, sending Ruby flying off the ground. She crashed and rolled at everything on her front, Aura flaring red with each hits until she came to sudden stop under a tree which then she leant on as she burried her face between her knees.

Ruby's legs throbbed in pain, heart racing at hundred miles per seconds. A cloud of rose petals fell around her as her Semblance deactivating but she disregard them as she sobbed back a tear from falling down her cheek.

The first thing she did in the past was upsetting her younger self by making her thinks she was Summer. She felt miserable and numb Ruby got a sudden urge to crawl somewhere dark and curl up to a ball. She supposed to fix everything not making things complicated, she had hoped she could finish her job and be done with it by staying low for the rest of her life but here she is, not knowing what to do now her cover is blown out of the window.

A familiar sniffling and hot breath blew abover her still ducked head followed by a faint growl which grew stronger with each sniffs. Ruby swatted the offending snout with the back of her hand, not really paying attention to the Beowolf.

"Go away I'm not in the mood" she growled back, pushing the snout harder this time.

The Beowolf, being a dumb one that even doesn't have a mind to stay with its pack, let out a howl of anger. It started to back down and lowering its stance, ready to pounce and maul Ruby's still hunched form, it has enough of being ignored by what it thinks is an easy prey and ready to teach this human a lesson why she should never underestimate an opponent especially a Grimm.

But Ruby didn't though, she's well aware that even the smallest and dumbest of Grimm should never be disregarded and must be taken seriously just like the strongest of its kind. She had learned the said lesson once through the hard way and she is anything but a slow learner.

It was the Red Reaper who is going to teach this Grimm why it should never bothered a woman currently dealing with emotional problems.

It jumped forward, razor-sharp teeth and claws bared and ready to shred the soft human flesh that was Ruby. It's almost reach its target when the woman suddenly lifted her face, pouring every single emotions she had to the front of her vision with a snarl that even put the one on the Beowolf's face to shame.

The world exploded in white silver light, covering almost half of kilometer of the area with bright hue. When it faded back all that remains were a blank-looked Ruby and a petrified Beowolf frozen in place mid-strike. She couldn't let her emotions get a better of her less she want to attract more Grimm.

Wiping her eyes from any stray tears Ruby got up to her feet and inhale slowly, face morphed to one of determination. If she was going to do this then might as well start soon than later, first on the list was to resupply but before that she need to do her personal hygiene since this Vale will be different with the one she used to operate on. She doesn't want people craning their necks to her direction because she smell like rotten Grimm's carcasses and look like a vagabond which is exactly how she seems like.

Thankfully most of her supplies still attached inside her pouches. There are Liens, meds, her Scroll and some equipments she use to disassemble Crescent Rose and Cleaver Rose in doing regular maintenance. Usually she carried additional ammunitions too but she spent them during their final assault against Salem. She has one extra pouch however that was used to carry Fire Dust-enhanced bullets but now it is empty just like its brethren.

That final fight was brutal she had to fire Crescent Rose nonstop just to kill the Grimms surrounding Salem's stronghold. Ruby hadn't have the chance to check on Crescent Rose's firing chamber but she knew it could use some cleaning considering how Fire Dust usually affect firearms. At least she doubt she would have to replace it like that one time she accidentally almost blew her baby to pieces.

_Welp, story for another time_.

With Crescent Rose left behind along with her red hood, Ruby has to make due with Cleaver Rose at least until she found a way to free her sweetheart and hood from her younger self's captive. Normally she would have freaking out that she left her weapon but knowing mini-her, and damn she does, then Crescent Rose is in good hands. The worst thing the little Rose could do to her weapon is unintentionally snap it to half and running around Beacon in panic thinking she break it while covered in grease.

She pushed herself off the ground, stretching her body to relief her muscle. The least she can do is to check on Crescent Rose at where she left her just to make sure. But for now she need to look out for river or something she can use to wash herself, other things can wait.

Ruby sniffed her bang and make a face from its smell, her usually sweet scent of rose was replaced with burnt rose petal and she has to pushed the strands covering half of her face to the back of her ear to prevent her nose from breaking apart. Double checking her loadout to make sure everything is accounted for she begin her search for water source.

**_~CONTINUE~_**

Crescent Rose and her hood were nowhere to be found, just like she had expected.

Ruby walked down Vale's road in silence, head hung low and her freshly washed hair-which now smell just like her usual scent-covering half of her face. She actually felt grateful now she hasn't cutted her hair yet otherwise with her hood now absent she would never be able to keep low profile.

It's not everyday's sight you seen a Huntress walking around a city street fully cladded in Atlesian Battle Dress, no matter how different or futuristic it seems.

Ruby grimaced when a pair of pedestrians walked past her with curious and a bit suspicious look on their faces. Having a Huntress is one thing, having a Huntress seemingly associated with a half continent away kingdom is another one thing. She had started considering to remove her unit and affiliation patches on her shoulders when she sewn her dress but went against it since it was the only reminder she has.

Now though with her cover and probably safety in the line Ruby has to make decision; her emotions or her duty.

The answer always been the same, duty first and emotions later. Emotions don't help you in battlefield and what you feel is irrelevant to your survival. The enemy won't stop attacking when you feel happy even Grimms, let alone when you feel sad and conflicted.

So without further thought the red head tear the insignias off their places and putted it in one of her pouches. Now bare from any markings she continue venturing the pathway with hopefully less people watching.

It unnerved her how casual everyone is acting in Vale. Back on her time this city was completely destroyed even after what supposedly a victory in taking it back. If anything the battle only worsened everything with dead human and Faunus littered the place. Some of the deads wore standard Atlesian Military Uniforms while the other had blue panther's head printed in equally blue circle on a plain white shirt's backs, the Atlas Military and White Fang members.

The only comfort Ruby had seeing them was they didn't die fighting each other, they die fighting _along_ _side _each other.

After Adam was killed, the White Fang had returned to its original path with Blake's father and later Blake herself assumed control. The first step they took was to changed their banner, replacing the angry red blood mark with peaceful blue just like how it supposed to be. Then there were countless cooperations between Faunus and Human in the Second Great War as they called it with human supplying intel and equipment and Faunus offering fighters since Faunus has better physical strength than most human.

Ruby won't disrespect it by summarizing the war, but after went through hell and back side by side finally mankind sees Faunus as equal, battle-buddies and trusty friends even. Somehow the White Fang had succeeded their goals, it's just unfortunate they need another Great War to make it possible, both Human and Faunus alike.

She paused infront of a familiar store, one of few she could remember from her hazy memory. This was the place which changed her fate in a way, a seemingly simple coincident that somehow played the biggest impact in her life. Had she not been here that night she probably would never enrolled to Beacon two years early and met her amazing teammates and friends.

_From Dust Till Dawn_

Ruby smiled, pushing the double door separating her and the inside open and stepped forward. It look the same just like how she remembered, intact and clean and neatly arranged. Behind the counter an elderly man stood patiently waiting for her.

Her smile grew wider and Ruby picked her pace, stopping to stand across from the man. She didn't exactly know his name even after those years, she just simply refered him as Oldman Shopkeeper whenever she talked with or about him.

Now however she realized how rude that sounded Ruby decided to ditch the title. Talking as kindly and warmly as she can "Good afternoon, sir. Do you happen to have Red Dust crystal?"

The man nodded and gave her a throaty sound of confirmation before reaching under the counter and pulled her request out. Opening its container to reveal a cleanly cutted Red Dust crystal, the man gestured with his hands to let Ruby examine it.

She did just so, weighing and peering around the object to check its quality. Satisfied with the result, Ruby ordered a handful more of it and paid the man. She nodded back the thanks he gave her before taking her leave, paying a bit of attention toward the now fixed glass window where she kicked one of Torchwick's henchman through ten years ago.

Ruby couldn't stop a chuckle from leaving her throat at the memory, but as she stepped outside and noticed the yet to be repaired craters on the main road her smile turned to a frown. That ten years ago is _yesterday_ in current timeline and still fresh to the world.

She shook her head and continue venturing the paved way until she arrived at Vale's Memorial Park, also one of few places she could remember from her blurry mind. During her early days at Beacon she usually spent her weekends here, sometimes with her team members and in rarer times alone when she feel like to have some quiet. She doesn't need to worry of encountering her younger self since her first day at Beacon was pretty busy, right now they probably in the middle of selecting team leader and it won't finish until hours later.

There was a reason why they did not unpack their belongings until the next morning, namely sleeping.

The Scythe wielder sat down on a bench, shaded under a towering oak tree. Ruby detached Cleaver Rose from her belt and put it on her side before fishing one of Red Dust crystals she purchased earlier out from one of her pouch. Ejecting Cleaver Rose's power unit from under it, she begun the process of replacing the Red Dust with a new one.

With her Scythe now absent she doesn't need to buy the ammunition right away, but that didn't mean she didn't need to resupply her medical and consumptions soon. Money still hasn't become a problem yet but Ruby knew she should find a job and a place where she could stay. Beside she also need to wash her dress now she think about it.

She extended Cleaver Rose's blade, activating the power to check on its compatibility with her sword. The red hue shines brighter than before since the output itself is stronger compared to the previous crystal she used, normally under constant usage the power unit will last for two weeks before she has to replace it but with how things are she perhaps could stretch it to three or four weeks if she avoid using the special feature itself unless necessary, not a problem though since the blade was just as sharp.

Out of the corner of her eyes Ruby saw a bunch of kids staring at her and her weapon with wide eyes, each having a look of awe in their faces. She smiled and wave at them, making a show to twirl and spin Cleaver Rose between her fingers. As expected the action seems to uplifted their excitement and Ruby couldn't stop the giggle leaving her throat when they squealed happily.

One of the children approach her shyly, a girl cladded in blue shirt and black pants that reaching out under her knees. She seems to hesitated when Ruby's visible eye drifted toward her extra pair of ears but when the woman's smile broke to a grin she knew it was fine.

"Um, excuse me... Are you a Huntress?" she asked with no small amount of nervousness, fiddling with her thumbs as she kept stealing a glance toward the older woman.

Ruby's heart flutter at the sight, the girl look so adorable especially with those cat ears!

"That I am, kiddo!"

Her face lit up, Faunus ears perking up as she held up a paper and pen between her hands. "Really?! Can I get your autograph?!"

"Sure" Ruby shrugged, taking the items and signed her signature before returning it, not forgetting to add her unique rose symbol. "What's your name?"

"It's Alice!"

"Alice, huh? How old are you exactly?"

The girl stopped gawking at her signature and beamed at Ruby instead. "I'm 13 and turn 14 next week!"

"Woah that's great! Happy birthday, Alice"

"Thanks"

"So, why do you want my signature?" Ruby patted beside her, offering the girl to sit which she accepted.

"Well duh, I want to be a Huntress too"

"And why is that?"

The girl grew silent, mulling the answer. "I don't know. Hunters and Huntresses are just so cool, they are super strong and have cool weapons" At this, she gestured toward Cleaver Rose with both hands eagerly. "Can I see it? can I? can I? can I?"

Ruby chuckled, picking her sword from her other side and handed it to the girl. "Careful, we don't want to cut a limb"

She nodded, still staring at the weapon in awe. "How do you do that glowy thingy?"

"By pressing this button"

Alice's jaw dropped further if it was possible when Cleaver Rose lit up and Ruby swore she saw a drop of drool fell from the girl's mouth. "Oh my God this is amazing! Does she have a name?!"

"Yep, I always named my weapons. This one is Cleaver Rose"

"Cool!" She squealed but suddenly stop when she noticed something. "Wait, _weapons__?!"_

"You heard me"

"Where are the other?!"

Ruby cringed when the girl wave her sword almost frantically and decided to take it back before she seriously cut something that wasn't supposed to be cutted. Deactivating the power and retracting its blade in one swift motion with Alice's gaze never leaving her Ruby then answer "There is one, a High-Impact Sniper Scythe I have have since I was a kid around your age, her name is Crescent Rose"

Alice muttered the name as if testing it before her blue eyes shone even brighter. "Where is she?! can I see her?!"

"Well, she is currently not with me..." _Not me **me**..._

"Aw that was unfortunate"

"You can say that again" Ruby mumbled, mind turning back to the question she's been having since she met her younger self.

_Of all place and time they decided to dropped me exactly during my initiation day at Beacon__, was this somekind of joke?_

"Say, Alice. Where do you currently study at? what Combat Academy?"

The little Faunus's cheerful expression fell and replaced with a dejected look instead. Ruby instantly regret the question. "I don't. Mom didn't let me join any. She said we should leave the job to someone else, someone who is not a Faunus and didn't come from poor family. She didn't say it but I know she was afraid of losing me after dad is gone"

Feeling the insecurity radiating from Alice, the red head pulled her closer to a half embrace. Gently ruffling her cat ears and dark locks. "Listen, do you want to know a secret?" When she felt the girl numbly nodded Ruby continue "I'm from a half-intact family too, unlike you, it was my mother who's gone"

That gained the younger girl's attention. She pulled away from the embrace, wiping the stary tears from her eyes and stare at Ruby. "How do you get over it?"

The Huntress smiled and shook her head. "I didn't. Everyday I spent thinking about her. It was not exactly easy to 'get over it' when people keep telling me how similiar I look like with her. But never let the past bother you, kid. You cherished their memories, you remember those who's gone and never come back but don't let your mind wander to the what ifs because you will never pulled yourself out of that sinkhole"

"You make it sounds easy"

"No, I make it sounds like how it was"

Alice fell silent, studying Ruby's face and expression looking for dishonest or lies. When she found none she practically threw herself to the older woman's arms and sobbed a thanks again and again.

Ruby was surprised at her sudden action she barely registered it when the girl left her embrace and stood up, holding her autograph close to her chest for dear life. "Well, I gotta go. Thank you for everything!"

Silver Eyes blinked almost owlishly, she just sat there staring at the girl's retreating back. Ruby's mind still processing what had just happened, one time she was talking and the next she had this bundle of Faunus between her arms crying, and now the said Faunus is on her way to wherever she was going to.

_Wait_

"Alice wait!" Ruby jumped to her feet only to stumble forward awkwardly, after painting such a heroic visage to the younger's girl mind the first thing she did was almost falling face-first. She snatched Cleaver Rose off the bench and activated her Semblance, catching up with Alice in a flash of red.

"Woah!" Cloud of rose petals dance in the air around the little girl as Ruby zipped to her front. "Was that your Semblance?"

"Yes"

"That was cool!"

"I know" Shaking her head to get rid of stray petals in her hair Ruby continue "You said next week is your birthday?"

"Um... Yes? Why?"

"Well, I have something for you. Consider it as an early birthday present from me" Ruby rummaged through her pouches, trying to figure out where she placed that one particular object at. After full ten seconds she pulled out a silver necklace with a pendant attached to it. "Here, happy birthday, Alice"

Putting the necklace around Alice's neck, Ruby kneeled down and stared at her with a smile on her face. It befit the younger girl like how it befitted its previous owner and Ruby had a sudden rush of nostalgic feeling just by seeing it.

Alice on the other hand only fiddle with the pendant with a look of curiousity. "What is this? I never seen this flower before"

Ruby smiled "That is Belladonna flower. A flower that is known for its beautiful appearance yet very dangerous when consumed. People called it deadly beauty or silent killer because you would never know what kill you"

"Why'd you give it to me?"

Ruby's smile turned sorrowful and she found herself staring at the pendant. "It was belong to one of my best friends. She was a Huntress, a good one at that but do you know what was the best part of it?"

"What?"

"She was a Faunus just like you. She had darker past than any of us but she never gave up on what she believed, always fighting for what she thought was right until her last breath. In the end she had achieved one of her dreams because of her determination to make things right"

"Was she a good person?"

"She was a very good person. But she wasn't perfect though, she had her fair share of mistakes and doubts in her life. But my point is, don't let anything hinder you of your dreams, kid. Especially when it comes to who or what you are"

Alice grinned, snapping to attention and gave her a playful salute. "Yes, Mam!"

Ruby laughed and patted the little Faunus's head. "Now go and take care of my gift will ya?"

She nodded in return and after another goodbye dashed away from the area, leaving Ruby alone once again to deal with herself.

Despite her advice she still had a feeling of reluctance when giving the girl Blake's necklace. The object was the only physical reminder she had about Blake but now it was gone. Though to say she regret it would be a lie since Alice's reaction definitely worth the sacrifice. She knew however that she had done the right thing by giving it to the girl and Blake won't be mad knowing she gave it to cheer a little cat Faunus.

_Probably, hopefully._

With a sigh of resignation she then proceed to continue her main intention visiting Vale's Memorial Park. There was a transmitter tower built on its middle, one that has the capability to reach outside kingdoms by piggy-backing the CCT. She could use the CCT itself but that place is too close with Beacon and has so many security procedure to follow.

At least here it was less crowdy and has less security protocols.

Stepping inside the structure, Ruby scanned the area for any threat or anomaly, taking note of how many people currently using the communication service. She walked down the narrow pathway and stop behind an empty terminal, one that was specifically used to do audio call.

Head still hung low, Ruby took her Scroll and activated a prevention program to make it untraceable before putting it on the terminal. There was a soft hum as the terminal powering up and soon a display popped up on its monitor about user's status.

It was blank

Ruby smiled, popping her fingers before typing her order. Communication to outside kingdoms cannot be done without CCT Network through her Scroll, just like how Atlas designed the CCT. It was intended as precaution so no criminal could use it to communicate between kingdoms freely, less they want a full fledged strike team hunting them.

Of course it has its flaws just like any other systems. Once the main CCT Tower gone offline the whole country will be isolated from outside world. During the war Atlas had these special airships they used as signal bouncers to keep the frontline posted about recent developments especially in country that had lost its CCT Tower, the idea actually came from Ruby herself who previously proposed to Atlas to launch space-based communication system but it was dismissed since Remnant's orbit is full with debrises from its shattered moon. Said they had tried the idea but failed countless time before settling with CCTs instead.

There's a reason why they don't reach the stars yet and that was not because of technology.

Entering her command Ruby watched with bated breath as the screen change to a familiar symbol of Atlas Military and a mechanical voice speaks at her _"Hello and welcome to Atlas Military Public Relations Service, how may I help you?"_

Ruby bit her lip and glance around the room, this is it, there is no going back anymore. She has to keep it brief but she know they will understand.

"Priority message to Iron Bishop. Verification codes Sierra-Omega-Charlie-Omega-Mike-Slash-One-One-Eighteen. Subject **_Queen has pawn in Research Departement code name Watts, Arthur._** Confirmed?"

_"Confirmed, Operative"_

Ruby nodded to herself, shutting down the terminal and snatched her Scroll and pocketed it before taking her leave.

First step is taken, now all she has to do is gather some intels regarding the White Fang. Despite coming from future she barely know a thing during this year, though now she is certain with Watts will be taken care of the Paladin she fought against with her team that night will never arrived at Vale.

Torchwick's also currently has his nose busy stealing Dust and running covert operations and she can't wait to mess around with him. Though she has to be careful with Cinder less she want to turn half of Vale to shambles and risk her cover.

Ruby groaned, this is going to take some time and she is not a fan of 'one thing at a time', but she can be patient when she want to and in patience she shall operate on. She also a Sniper for reasons and capable of holding her fire is one of those along with precision and quick killing. Otherwise Ironwood would had her joining Atlesian Marine Corps if she was so trigger happy.

_Setting up base of operation added to the to do list then. Ha! Torchwick would never seen this one coming._

With a dark chuckle she disappeared to an alleyway. Leaving the bright and lively side of Vale to enter its more dangerous part. This is not the first time she operated in Vale and won't be the last time either and although everything is so different with her version of Vale she still know her way around the city just fine.

_Like the back of my hand_.

**_TBC_**

**Heyyyaaaa I'm back.**

**This chapter is another one of those long chain of words. I mean 6k including this note? hell yeah it's another achievement. I wrote almost 2k of it in one night and dayum that was actually pretty refreshing to be able to pour down my imagination.**

**I legit stared at Crescent Rose blueprint for half an hour last night trying to find any flaws I could use for the next chapter (That's right! next chapter will be about mini-Ruby and Crescent Rose) which will take place after a quick time transition, just to warn you guys.**

**Anyway, can you guess who was Ruby refering to as Iron Bishop and what are the verification codes spelt in that call? It's a hint for Ruby's past (or future?) unit affiliation.**

**Responses for review**

**_Sm0keyPanda_****_: _****Yeah English is not exactly easy compared with Bahasa Indonesia but I'll try my best, and thank you!**

**_JakeTheSpades: _****I always feel like Ruby's hiding something behind that cheerful attitude of her. If Red Like Roses Part II has anything to say it was how broken she actually is. We already seen a few slip ups here and there and it won't be long until Ruby finally crack.**

**I've been thinking about nickname too and if you caught on Yang's you will know what it would be for Ruby. But let it be our little secret hm?**

**And about Blake. I feel like she of all people would understand that personal feeling must be put aside during a mission so she had to... tolerate Weiss.**

**Also you can consider it as early gift from me then, whichever you like as long you are happy I will continue giving it lol. Thanks for the review, mate.**

**_merendinoemiliano:_ They actually hadn't have the chance to introduce each other's self. In the main show the only previous encounters they have were at Beacon's courtyard and main hall with little to no meaningful conversations, so Weiss didn't exactly know about Blake.**

**I'm sorry but this story won't focus on any pairings. There will be a few mentions about what currently canon but that was it.**

**_Kevin Blakeland: _Thanks! It won't stay a secret for too long though since I know how people want to see both Rubys and other characters interacting to one another.**

**_Jeff goldblum69: _Never thought you would have seen the day huh? So how do you like it my teasing about Ruby almost blew Crescent Rose to pieces? *Laugh maniacally.**

**_Gues_****_t: _****(Welp, there's only one Guest currently so it still kind of easy to reply) I'll do my best to keep this story running and interesting, and thank you for your kind words.** **Ruby had had her darker time and I'm planning to reveal it further in future chapters.**

**_That concluded it_**

**I hope to see you guys later and keep the review coming will ya? see you later and preferably soon!**

**Cipher032 out!**


	6. Chapter 6: Of Dragon and Rose

**_DISCLAIMER: RWBY BELONG TO ROOSTER TEETH AND ITS ORIGINAL CREATOR MOUNTY OUM (R.I.P)_**

**It's getting a bit crowdy here you guys makes me nervous hahaha.**

**Please enjoy and review.**

**Chapter 6: ****Of Dragon and Rose.**

Ruby took a sip from her personally standarized cup of coffee, she has to admit 5 cubes of sugar is not a healthy adjustment but she won't take anything less than that to keep her awake at night. Heck she would rather fall asleep on the floor _again_ if it meant not having anything but that.

Fixing her red hood around her shoulder to keep it out of the way, Ruby leant forward and study the strange albeit familiar weapon laid on one of Beacon's workshop table. She hasn't fully disassembled it yet but from what had already been removed she can tell how extensive the damage is.

Aside from its dented and missing blades which are rather obvious and easier to spot there are other damages that required more thorough examination. Ruby had detached the main blade holder however from its gun components which also function as shaft. Leaving the weapon... headless to say it.

She wanted to focuse on its Sniper part first since repairing a gun is more difficult than melee weapon no matter how big it is and considering how this weapon also a giant Scythe it has already spoken for itself in term of size.

It would be easier if she didn't keep getting distracted by the fact how strikingly familiar the weapon is with Crescent Rose yet so different in many ways that also make it better than what she could possibly achieve. Seriously there are things and ideas in this weapon she could use for her own and the thought of upgrading her baby excited her to no end. The problem however she was not so keen with the idea of stealing someone's design especially from a Huntress.

It's been a month since then but Ruby still can't get rid of the memory meeting that mysterious woman. She'd insisted to her older sister that the Huntress she met was their late mother and they have to find her and bring her back but Yang didn't believe her. They fought about it for hours with Yang pretty much trying to console her and Ruby yelling to her in return.

Both Weiss and Blake opted to stay silent the whole ordeal but Ruby still remember how Blake gaze at her with pity and Weiss's downcast look whenever she raised her voice to Yang. It's a good thing her sister is actually very patience when it comes to her because if else she would have gotten herself punched in the face and hospitalized for the rest of the month.

Yang understood her condition, she really does and she never felt so grateful for having her as sister. Ruby's mind was cloudy with emotions so Yang chose to relent even though she said bad things to her which she came to regret shortly afterward. She didn't even think twice to accepted her apologize and just move on as if nothing ever happened.

_"You don't care about her because she wasn't your mother!"_

_"I do care about her, Rubes. But **Mom** is gone and whoever that was it wasn't her, please don't leave"_

_"No! She is not gone she was... she was there I've seen her..."_ _At this point she already had her back pressed against the wall as she slid to her bottom and broke down crying. Weiss and Blake had left the sisters to give them some privacy albeit reluctantly_ _as if afraid with the idea of leaving them both alone. However a look from Yang that practically said she won't do anything stupid later had them convinced, beside Yang is her sister and knew what to do and no way in hell she would hurt her younger sister no matter the circumstances._

_"Listen, I know you miss her because I do too. But **Mom** is gone, Rubes, and she won't ever come back"_

_The fact is painful, despite it's been years since then but their mother's status is a touchy subject. An old wound that constantly ripped open sometimes unintended and sometimes deliberately by her. Of course she only thoughts of their happier moments no matter how little she remembered but her mind would just eventually drifted back to that faithful night her Uncle broke the nightmare to them._

_Yang settled down beside her slumped sister, putting a hand around the younger girl's middle and flare her Semblance to offer a sense of comfort and message that she was there with her in the same boat she's on, that she wasn't alone in this one._

_Ruby leant and return the embrace, burrying her face to her older sister's blonde hair and whimpered quietly. "I'm sorry. I didn't know what had gotten into me but I don't meant what I said to you"_

_The said blonde smiled, tracing her fingers at Ruby's red locks as she continued to mumbled an apology again and again. She knew her sister didn't mean it and she's more than willing to accept it. "It's okay, sis, I know you're not exactly the best when it comes to emotions"_

_Ruby attempted a laugh but it's came out as a sob instead. "That put it lightly, Yang"_

_"Sure it is"_

**_Never change, Rubes._**

_The younger girl basically has her emotions wore on her sleeves, exposed to the world on its raw form. She has so little weaknesses but dealing with feelings is definitely one of those, that's why she never good in interacting with people she doesn't know.__Yang fully aware with the consequences of that. Her sister might be the most kind-hearted and honest person because of it but out there in the harsh and shady part of world she often found herself on people always took advantage of good people for their own gain. Her sister is still a naïve little girl she always been and Yang swore to protect her last Rose even if it kill her._

_Their dorm room creaked open and a headful of white hair peeked through.__"Are you both fine now? because I really could use some sleep and your wailing is not exactly lulling"_

_The heiress' tone is sharp as always and if Yang didn't know any better she would have the girl punched through the window preferably from second floor and while it closed. But living with Weiss for a few days she could make out the look of concern she tried to supress with a scowl as she glared at Ruby._

_The red head shrunk under Weiss's intense look but Yang just laughed it off as she pulled her sister up with her. "Oh Weiss-y! I hope you use your colorful way of expressing your thoughts more Weiss-ly next time especially when it comes to my sister while I'm nearby"_

_Her icy glare shifted toward Yang but when she noticed Yang crooked smile turn to something more genuine and soft she understood what the blonde were implying. The brawler is an exact opposite of her sister in term of social skill and she must have understood her seemingly harsh attitudes actually have more than just that._

_She huffed and turn around to the hallway. "Told you all they are fine"_

_"Wait, who's **you all**?" Ruby panicked, how many people had she awoken during her yelling fit?_

_Her answer came when the door bursted open and Ruby screamed in surprise when a blur of orange tackled her to the air and spun her around. "Oh Ruby you didn't have an idea how worried Ren and I were we couldn't stop pacing around! Well, I couldn't but Ren actually pretty worried too and I can tell since he had this look on his face" She tried to mimicked the expression Ren had but it basically look the same like his usual impassive face._

_Ruby would have laugh if she wasn't suffocating._

_"Nora! let her go you are squeezing her"_

_"Oops!" Nora abruptly dropped Ruby to the floor, snapping in attention toward the voice. "Sorry, Ren!"_

_Ruby groaned, taking the hand her sister offered to help her up. "What is it with you guys and dropping me like a ragdoll"_

_"What is it with you and short height" Yang shot back, ruffling Ruby's hair to make her point across._

_The red head grumbled, trying and failing to comb her hair back to place. "Weiss is short too but you never pick her off"_

_Hearing her height insulted sent Weiss's pissed-off level, asYang dubbed it, sky high. "Why are you, you little-!"_

_"You're little too, Weiss" Blake chimed in flatly with a tone people usually use to describe the weather. Behind it however she had a mischievous grin hidden under layers of fake emotions. Messing around the heiress? she won't miss a chance. Afterall she enjoy watching how the Ice Queen turn red from embarassment or in this case anger even if it's the last thing she see._

_Weiss however was less amused. She glared at the other girl and stalked forward ready to give Blake a piece of her mind in the most **colorful** way when suddenly a flash of pale blue and yellow fell infront of her, effectively blocking her way._

_"Oh my! I'm sorry!"_

_"Pyrrha... Why?" Jaune groaned in pain, pushing himself off the floor while rubbing his sore cheek. He shot his partner a betrayed look while Pyrrha just smile nervously in return._

_"Sorry, Jaune, but I slipped on my boots!"_

_"You don't wear boots on your sleeping attire!" pouting from the absurdity of her excuse Jaune didn't let his partner reply and focusing his attention toward the smaller red head instead. His expression shifted to one of sympathy as he laid a hand on Ruby's shoulder._

_"Uh, Jaune?" Ruby asked tentatively, unsure with what was the blond doing._

_"Ruby, I know I'm not the best in conveying words but... I have seven sisters and if you feel like to have a talk you can find me and I will try my best to help you. Fully certified in talking with girls if you wonder" He added the last part intended as a joke but it has its fair share of truth behind it._

_Ruby sniffed, wiping the trace of tears on her cheeks before giving the blond a bright grateful smile. "Thanks, Jaune. I really appreciate it"_

_"And not only him, Rubes. You have me, Blake and the rest of JNPR... And Weiss... To talk with"_

_Weiss gave the blonde brawler a stern look for her less enthusiast tone when she mentioned her name. "Keep doing that and you will seriously find yourself frozen in your sleep one day" She flicked her white hair and turn her gaze toward Ruby "Just don't go all teary-eye on me and we probably going to have that talk"_

_Ruby glanced around her friends genuinely feeling grateful for having them. She smiled and gave each of them a look of gratitude. "Thank you all"_

The memory stopped when her Scroll buzzed in her pocket. Ruby fumbled with it for a moment before sliding it open to read on the notification.

It was a message from Yang.

Her brows furrowed when her Silver Eyes got a brief glance at the time. It's almost midnight and usually her teammates and sister would have fallen asleep at this hour. She had told them she would spend a bit more time at workshop working on the weapon they found so what was her sister sending?

Opening the message she braced herself for what she was about to see.

_"Ruby, you are there?"_

One of her eyebrow arched upward. What kind of stupid question was that? of course she is here. Her sister rarely started a conversation by asking such a silly question unless she was nervous or in deep thought where her mind is not exactly in the place.

Oh.

Smacking her forehead in realization, she typed her reply quickly. Double checking it before hitting the send button.

_"I'm here, Yang. What do you have a trouble with Professor Port's assignment about Aura and Huntsmen Weapons Relation? I've finished it earlier and has it near Weiss's on the table. You can ask her where it is"_

Putting the device on the table Ruby set the firing pin of the weapon back in place after cleaning and checking on its chamber for the third time. Thankfully there is nothing cracked or melted so all she had to do was replacing most of its springs and refine some scratches to make sure it won't jam. She however came across a strange electronic part connected with its crank via a small rod which positioned directly on the front of the said crank.

It was strange not because she didn't know what it is. Oh she knew pretty well what it is, but she never seen such a beautiful and fascinating fire discharger in her life. Not even Atlas Military currently comission it and Ruby couldn't wait until she disassemble it and see what inside the goods. Her fingers ached and she found herself reaching forward to it giddily with the biggest grin she could muster on her face.

That was when the world decided to turned against her.

Her Scroll buzzed again and she groaned in annoyance. Snatching it from the table she glare at its screen but her disappointed pout made her seem rather cute than intimidating. "What is it, Yang? You do realize we are only 3 minutes away by foot, right?"

She was so close to disclosing one of the most interesting things she had ever encountered!

On the other end of the line her sister face's turned to one of apologetic but it quickly morphed to something grim and Ruby had her undivided attention shifted to it. _"Sorry but I won't bother you if it's not something urgent"_

"Is Weiss dying?" Panic began to flooded her chest as Ruby heaved deeply. "Oh God the white in her skin is not because she has a severe case of Anemia is she?!"

Yang's face turned downright horrified for a second and Ruby mistook it as a affirmation for her nightmare.

"I'M ON MY WAY YANG"

_"Ruby, wait-"_ But it was too late. Ruby closed her Scroll and took off running, leaving rose petals in her wake as she bursted through the air. Her mug of coffee sat abandoned on the table along with future version of Crescent Rose still deconstructed form, fully unaware with a pair of brown eyes staring at her retreating shape.

The figure strode forward, one hand fisting a cup of coffee while the other curled around a cane for support. Those very same eyes shifted to the weapon with a wonder written all over it.

"Hm, curious."

**_~EARLIER~_**

The door of RWBY dorm room bursted open and a grinning Yang walked in. She barely spared a glance toward Weiss who sat behind their study table near the entrance working on something and instead stalked toward her side of bunk beds.

"Hey Blake! whatcha doing?" She casually asked, putting a hand on her hip as she stared down at the Faunus on the bed.

Blake raised one of her hand revealing the red hood she found in Emerald Forest during their day of initiation. It felt like ages had passed since then despite it just a month and she supposed having her days spent studying intensively gave that effect on her perception of time. "Just got this cleaned"

Yang leant forward at her partner's hunched form, staring at the garment with a look of curiousity. "Isn't that the hood you guys found? I almost forgot about it"

"It is. Couldn't believe myself after practically dictacting it to be cleaned now you can't tear yourself off it, was it that interesting to you?"

The ravenette glared at Weiss's back directly at that snowflake emblem she had came to despise. Even after nearly a month living with the heiress she still has some dislike for her unpleasant attitudes. Nevertheless Weiss had a point because Blake herself literally had the fabric thrown inside washing machine first time they return and didn't touch it weeks later after she certain the reeked smell was indeed gone.

She hadn't smelled something so disgusting before. It had scent that suspiciously felt like dead Grimm and dried blood which actually she had came across countless time but this one just different, it was so intense it actually burnt her nose all the way to the back of her throat. Though there was also a faint smell of rose but compared to what she encountered on daily basis coming from her leader it almost like a droplet of water in hurricane. Unlike the previous two scents however it didn't disappear even after nearly a month the hood spent most of its time in a room full of parfumes.

Blake inhaled on the fabric just to prove her point and sure enough the scent is still there. There was also a sense of familiarity from it she can't quite understand because usually the only one person who always smell like roses is Ruby and everything she wore. To have such well known smell on something so foreign confused her because for all she know this is not Ruby's.

"Dunno but it smell and look familiar, do you think it's qualified as _interesting__?_"

Beside her Yang shifted between her legs and frowned at her statement. "What do you mean?"

"Now it didn't smell like a nose-killing item it actually gave out a quite pleasant smell. A familiar one that is"

"Does it smell like a burnt ammunition? because that was my description of familiar"

Blake shook her head no. "That was actually one of its many scents before I washed it but now it only smell like a sweet rose..."

"Maybe parfume?" Weiss supplied, turning on her seat to look at the partners.

"No, parfumes don't have this kind of effect and it usually went away when washed. It's actually like the owner's Aura itself was absorbed after years of usage that caused the smell..."

"How could you be so sure about it?"

Blake paused and regard the heiress. "I have pretty good sense of smell"

"Which also comes with hearing, sight and reflexes" Weiss highlighted, extending a finger with each point she delivered before pointing her index toward the ravenette "Is there something else I must know?"

_Yes but I'm afraid that one something will upset you_. Blake thought bitterly.

"May I take a look?" Yang drawled in uncertainty. There's something at the back of her mind which unsettled her about that mysterious Huntress her sister met. The way her sister described how she looks like their late mother had her worried since Ruby usually never compared even herself with Summer. She suspected her little sister still hasn't move on and if the way her sister rambled for hours with the empty tombstone that was Summer's has its value then it might be true.

Ruby was almost hysterical when she finally confessed with her about the said Huntress. It took her days to get her sister finally speaking after which those days Ruby had gone quiet to the point she only spent her days doing school and sleeping. There was a disagreement between her and Weiss about RWBY leadership with mostly Weiss doing the protest and Ruby trying to understand what she had done wrong. That night however they settled the subject after Professor Ozpin paid them a visit and talked with Ruby while Weiss was nowhere to be found.

Apparently the heiress had found her own solace in a form of Professor Port and while Yang was not so fond of him she couldn't deny the fact he too is also a teacher and know his students. She had her degree of respect to him raised when she found out about it from Weiss.

Right after the pair had settled their dispute Yang thought it was the best moment to adress the elephant and she did just that. What the blonde didn't thought of was how deep her sister actually affected by the encounter and miscalculated her step.

_"There is no way that was Mom, Rubes. You were there when Uncle Qrow broke the news and you know Uncle never wrong before"_

She won't forget how her sister look at her as if she had punched her in the face and the never ending sorrow her Silver Eyes emitted they almost glowing. She didn't prepare herself with the yelling and accusations that follow later but honestly she didn't care.

Yang felt like she had betrayed her sister. She always said she will be there with her and she will never abandon her no matter what. It's spoken like a mantra and almost to a praying after Summer's demise and with her basically rubbing it on her sister's face she felt like she had failed to fulfilled that simple promise.

One thing for certain was Yang didn't feel angry with what her sister said to her because she know deep down Ruby is just a child. A child yearning for her mother's love but has her older sister trying to patch it since the said mother is dead instead, and had the said sister betrayed her later on. If anything she actually feel sad for Ruby's condition because of all people she probably is the most undeserving of the cruel fate.

_Such sweet and innocent Rose had her stem ripped, leaving her petals to waver in uncertainty._

"Here, take a sniff and you probably can make out the scent" Blake offered and Yang accepted, following her partner instruction and sure enough there's a faint trace of rose scent.

"It... does smell familiar..." And if what Blake said is true then this is indeed the owner's lingering Aura...

Lilac eyes widening, she shifted her grasps on the material and gasped at what she was seeing under its colar. Her shocked and trembling form caught both Weiss and Blake's attention and the two of them stare at her with worry in their eyes.

"Yang, you okay? What is it?" Blake tried to grab her partner's arm but she suddenly lit up on fire and knocked the Faunus off her mid-stand. She hissed in surprise at the sudden flaring of Semblance but stopped when she heard Yang sobbed.

Weiss already stood on her feet and looking at her expectantly as if waiting an answer. Like Blake the heiress almost throw herself forward to grab their clearly in distress friend only to hesitated when she suddenly set herself aflame.

"Yang!"

"Yang, calm down! What is the problem?!"

The blonde swiveled her neck to look at Blake, barely registering how her partner recoiled back in surprise under her intense crimson gaze. "The _problem _is that woman had one of my dead mother belonging!" she bellowed, holding the faded sentence printed under the hood colar. "You see this?! it's written _Summer Rose_ and the only Summer Rose I know was my mother!"

Weiss peered at the object, mindful with the brawler's fervent wave of fire. She had seen it before and couldn't make out what was written due to its sorry state but with Yang subjugation it become clear now what was the letters said.

_Summer Rose_.

"Maybe it's different person?" The heiress proposed but then Yang shook her head no and frowned.

"No it wasn't possible"

"How could you be so sure?" Blake asked, putting her hand at Yang's shoulder now her Semblance seem safe to touch and squeezed it lightly.

The blonde sighed and willed her remaining fire to extinguish. "Do you know Ruby's Semblance has one heredity characteristic?"

Both Weiss and Blake shared a glance.

"You mean her side of family has super speed?" Weiss tried tentatively. She knew Yang and Ruby is only half sister and she doesn't want to upset the other half by excessing the fact.

"Not that. Ruby's surname actually came from it and so did her mother's. Everytime a Rose has their Semblance unlocked or used it always followed with rose petals. Their Auras revolved around it and so does their Semblances, and as clićhe as it sounds I can't think of something so befitting of them" She finished with a small smile, staring at her mother's name on the red hood. "Summer told us about it before but I think Ruby was too young to understand she probably didn't remember it"

"So... Are you saying...?"

"Yes, I think there is another Rose out there"

"Another Rose? do you know who?"

The blonde haired girl shook her head, swaying her bright locks back and forth in the process. "Summer was... very discreet about her origin. She never talked about where she came or her past and I have my suspicion she was trying to hide it from us. That one time she talked about her unique Semblance was the only time she talked about herself at all"

"But... Why would she wanted to keep her past as secret? Clearly she was a very good person if what you said and how Ruby is have their values"

An apple didn't fall far from its tree, and what Weiss said is indeed true. Her mother was a very good person and Ruby herself has her mother traits with her. But her kindness was also one of her greatest weakness and Yang won't be surprised if somebody took advantage of it, that's why she actually felt grateful her sister also inherited her father side of peculiar quirk in beating something and ask question never which mostly to Grimms.

Yang however know her sister won't stop to just Grimm one day and sooner or later will have her first share of living being. She just hope she would be there when she does.

"She was, alright. But you know how good person ends up out there more than me"

Blake followed her partner's gaze and felt her stomach dropped when she realised it was aimed at her bow. She underestimated how perceptive Yang is behind that seemingly carefree attitude and she was about to pay the price.

Her partner just smiled and drop her gaze to the fabric in her arms and Blake let out a silent sigh. Under that same attitude Yang also a very understanding person and she won't poke her nose at something as profound as her secret unless she reveal it first.

There's a reason why Blake trust her partner, and considering how she lived in a world where betrayal was daily basis it spoke its value.

"What are we going to say to Ruby that there's someone related to her out there? You sure she won't overreacting like last time?"

"Give her some credits, Weiss. She's a big girl and she would'nt overreact as easily"

Weiss huff and crossed her arms, plopping back at the chair she previously sat on and gave the blonde a stern look. "If she does, it's your problem"

Yang rolled her lilac eyes and pulled her Scroll out. Tapping and, well, scrolling on its screen before settling on Ruby's number and sent her a message.

There is still something missing however and it was the fact of how that mysterious woman could had her hands on one of Summer's hood. Her mother rarely gave her many collection of cloaks if never to anyone else and the only people she had ever let on to touch them was her own family and former teammates. Yang would never understand her obsession to hoods and cloaks but she didn't mind it much.

To have this one woman had it meant she must be a very important person to Summer since the only people she had offered her hoods and cloaks were her own daughters. Yang could still remember that one night when her mother dragged her and her sister half asleep forms downstair their little house with a big grin on her face, literally skipping the floor with her youngest daughter in one hand while the other held Yang's.

_"Mom what is it?'' __Yang asked as her mother finally let go of her hand and skimmed through a pile of clothes stacked on their living room's couch._

_"I made you guys something!" Her mother practically cried in excitement as she continue her search._

_Ruby was on her older sister's side, rubbing her eyes off sleep and slightly leaning to her for suppport. "Is it cookie?"_

_"Nope!" Summer replied, popping the **p**. Soon enough she had her search completed with a silent exclamation and held two pieces of fabric high in the air._

_One was a red hood which look as big as her's white and the other was a yellow colored cloak, each held in both of her hands as she stared at her daughters with even bigger grin Yang actually afraid her mother going to break her face._

_"Hood-ie!" Ruby shrieked in happiness, jumping to take the garment off her mother's hand. Summer laughed when her small form couldn't reach the red hood and had her hand lowered just a little bit so she can grab it. All traces of sleep left her feature the little girl had her form jumping on her feet in excitement "Is it for my? is it for my?!"_

_"It's **mine**" The elder Rose corrected both her question and grammar but quickly had her pointed look morphed to smile."But now it's yours!"_

_Ruby squealed and throw her body to cling at her mother's legs, elicting another fit of laughter from the woman which she later joined in when the said woman scooped her up with one hand and planted kisses along her neck. The red hood hung loosely on Ruby's hand since it weight so great for her little arm to support and had its end touching the floor._

_"__But... I don't like cloaks!" Yang exclaimed, holding the fabric up infront of her almost blocking her body off Summer. "Can I get something else?! like a bracelet or something?"_

_"Aww but they will fit you both perfectly!" Setting a still giggling Ruby down beside her sister Summer then took the cloak from the small blonde's hands and put it around her shoulders, finishing the lacing and turn to Ruby to do the same._

_The smaller girl had her body totally engulfed in the red hood, face covered with only her toothy grin visible for her mother to see. "Ohhh you both are so cuuuteeee!" She cooed "I can't wait to see you both when you are older!"_

The memory faded when a drop of tear fell on the red hood, Yang wiped her eyes and blinked around to get rid of the stray liquid. She glanced up at Weiss who thankfully has her back facing her, already continue working on her books. Blake however was staring at her but the Faunus dropped her gaze when their eyes met out of respect and instead giving her a stiff nod as if to say she understand.

Summer never had the chance to watch her daughters grow up.

It was shortly a few weeks later Uncle Qrow broke them the news in that dreadful night that their mother is not returning home or back at all.

Yang was so angry and sad by the fact her precious mother would abandon her like what her _actual_ mother did. Of all people she would never thought Summer was going to be the next person to left her all alone again, those promises and soothing words her mother uttered rang hollow in her grief-stricken heart and she found herself struggling to cope with the situation.

It got so bad one day to the point she actually _loathed _her and in that very same day had her mother belongings thrown away including her multitude cluster of hoods and cloaks off the cliff where her tombstone is. Along with them was her very own yellow cloak which her mother gave her.

She returned and thought of one more red hood, intending to throw it too with its brethren off the cliff. She rummaged through the house and checked on every corners and possible places where her sister left it but came out empty handed.

That was when she realized her sister was also nowhere to be found.

She redone her search, this time also looking for possible places where her sister could possibly hiding and found her inside a closet, red hood clutched tightly around her little shoulders and eyes looking at her with fright and a hint of defiance.

_"Give it to me, Ruby"_ _Yang demanded, extending an arm toward the little girl which cause her to stumbled backward in fear._

_"No!"_

_"Ruby, I'm not in the mood to play with your game. Give it to me now!"_

_"I said no!" The red head rushed forward, surprising Yang with her sheer speed and ran straight past her blockade.__The blond recovered quickly though and without thinking yanked the hood mid-air, causing her sister to stumble and fell in her dash._

_"Give it to me so I can get rid of it! There's no point of keeping a gift from a liar!"_

_"Mom is not a liar and she will come back!" Ruby screamed in return, trying and failing to pull her hood off her sister's grasp._

_"She won't come back! Just like anyone else..." she trailed off and sobbed. "Now give it to me so I can throw it away just like the others"_

_Ruby's__ Silver Eyes widened upon the declaration and she found herself tightening her grasps. "You didn't..."_

_"I did and I will do it again. Now, let GO!"_

_"NO! YOU WILL HAVE TO THROW ME WITH IT!"_

_Yang froze and her grips loosened on the red fabric. Her little sister had stopped struggling and instead curled herself to a ball and cried in resignation, despite it however her hold on the hood didn't falter and instead the polar opposite occured._

_She stared at the girl laying on the floor then at her hands and return, tears of confusion and regret ran down her cheeks. What had she done? why she did it?_

_"Mommy..." Ruby whimpered and Yang felt her heart shattered, she didn't know what she had done and why she did it._

_"Ruby I..." She started to approach but her sister only curled further and had her hands tighter around her small frame as if to shield herself._

_Yang stepped away and began to hyperventilate as panic built up in her chest. She ran then leaving Ruby alone and didn't stop until she reached the cliffside, dropping to her knees behind the tombstone and like her sister curled up to fetal position and cried._

"Yang!"

"Huh?"

Blake pointed at her partner's pocket, giving the blonde a worried look in the process. When she first saw Yang's tears spilt she almost called her for it but then a smile appeared on the blonde's face and she refrained, deciding it was a happy tears. But the second time she cried there was no smile or look of content, instead a horrendous amount of regret passed on her face making the ravenette uncomfortable because of how unfamiliar it was on her partner's face.

Thankfully the said partner's Scroll buzzed and Blake found her reason to distract the blonde without actually making Weiss suspicious. "Your Scroll buzzed of"

"Oh"

Yang flipped it open and read on Ruby's reply. There was an assignment Port made for them?

"Professor Port gave us assignment?"

"Yes. The Relation between Aura and Huntsmen Weapons. I have mine just finished and I believe Ruby has done her's long ago" Weiss chimed in, once again turning around in her seat and point at the stack of papers and books on the table.

"Yeah she has" Yang chuckled, showing the message to both Weiss and Blake. "You can feel her annoyance radiating from the screen"

"You think she was in a middle of repairing the weapon?" Blake asked, gesturing toward the Scroll.

"Probably, I can make sure does she really was"

"I don't like the sound of that..."

"Oh don't worry. The worst thing a pissed off Ruby could do is rigged your weapon with extra explosives and nearly has your arm blown off. She done it to Ember Celica once when I _accidentally_ dropped her jar of cookies but the extra recoils are just lit! Not the worst thing I couldn't get behind with"

There are not a lot of things the blonde can't get behind with and the fact the young leader managed to do it unsettled both Blake and Weiss.

"I don't think it's a good idea, Yang. You might capable to survive whatever ingenious act your sister commited but I don't want to explode in a shower of Dust when I use Myrtenaster"

"What did she do anyway?" Blake queried, partly impressed and mostly horrified with Ruby's seemingly endless supply of ideas in weapons modification. She's going to make sure the younger girl was in a good mood next time she let her tinker with Gambol Shroud, maybe a box of cookies will suffice as peace offering and bribe, anything to keep her limbs attached and in one piece really.

"Eh minor stuff. Something about replacing its muzzle and barrel and rerouting its combustion gasses out path. But what really made the difference were these special shells she created, should have known since her smile was too big and _innocent_ when she gave it to me" She laughed but her friends just stare in disbelief. "I keep the modification since it actually feel better"

"You _keep _it?!"

She shrugged and instead of replying Weiss's question continue to tap on her Scroll to dial her sister. Meanwhile both the heiress and Faunus have their mind reeled to one simple conclusion.

Their partners are insane.

"Ruby need to know about this. Better soon than later" Yang said gesturing toward the red hood. "She won't take it easily but she won't _overreact_. That girl always has special attraction toward Summer's belonging especially since she's gone"

"It measured of how much Ruby loved her mother, Yang" Blake said as she settle down to her bed, she can feel her extra pair of ears pressing down her bow but the fabric keep them upright. Somehow the discomfort only act as addition to her degrading mood.

"Yeah I guess..."

Silence befell in RWBY dorm room while all of its occupants contemplates what the blonde confessed. Weiss has her gaze on the floor suddenly finding its surface interesting while Blake just look away from any of them especially the brawler. The only sound they can hear is the beeping of Yang's Scroll as the call continue to pending.

Finally the tone stopped and a familiar voice filled the silence._"What is it, Yang? You do realize we are only 3 minutes away by foot, right?"_

The heiress pursed her lips at Ruby's annoyed tone and dare a glance to Yang. She had a look of sorry on her face and Weiss supposed it was not just for her interrupting the red head. "Sorry but I won't bother you if it's not something urgent"

_"Is Weiss dying?!"_

All feeling of sorrow left the heiress' heart the moment Ruby uttered the word and replaced with confusion and anger. Where on Remnant did Ruby get such random idea?! Before she could say anything however she hears Ruby continue.

_"Oh God the white in her skin is not because she has a severe case of Anemia is she?!"_

That's it, the dolt is going to meet her beloved mother soon.

Blake tried to mask off her grin but the look on Weiss's face was just so hilarious she barely register her partner's exclamation to stop Ruby. "Well, at least she based her... theory... off something. Kind of make sense though"

Weiss's infamous Schnee glare shifted to Blake and the ravenette look away to feign innocent. "The only person who is going to die of blood loss is Ruby" She growled.

Yang laughed and that was when Weiss realized the blonde was silently counting with her fingers. "Well, you have to survive this first"

"Survive wha-"

"WEEEEEIIIISSSSSS!"

"AAHHHHHHHHHH!"

The door flew open and a cloud of rose petals burst in. Weiss had little time to react when the sheer force knocked her off her chair, more little when a blur of red began to shake her frantically.

"WEISS! WEISS! DON'T DIE ON ME WEISS!"

The partners certainly have a time of their lives with Yang rolling on floor laughing and Blake wheezing on her bed while clutching her side.

"YOU DOLT! GET OFF ME I'M NOT DYING!"

Ruby jolted back a few feet to give her partner some space. "You're not? But I thought Yang said-"

"Woah! leave me alone I didn't say anything about Weiss dying" She managed to say between laugh, she love her sister but she really doesn't want to stand on the wrong end of Myrtenaster.

"But-" The temperature suddenly plummeted and Ruby felt a chill ran down her spine, daring a glance she sees Weiss slowly sat up trying and failing to smoother her dishelved look. When the heiress realized the futility of her action however she turned her attention toward her partner and _smile_.

"Ruby Rose... I'm going to kill you"

**_~Continue~_**

After the disaster which Yang so tenderly called 'short stuffs chasing each other' the team finally settled in semi-circle with Blake so kindly on the middle between Ruby and Weiss while Yang sat beside her sister offering morale support.

The white haired girl still keeps her death glare toward their youngest team member but her partner just look straight forward trying to ignore the heiress with no fruition.

"Alright! now you guys settled let's continue"

"Yes, let's continue" Weiss hissed, not really thinking continuing what Yang meant with continue and instead the _other thing_ she wants to continue that involved freezing a certain someone to death.

"This better be good, Yang. I was this close in discovering gold cache" Ruby chimed in, holding her fingers together almost to a pinch.

"Is there something interesting of that weapon?" Blake asked, genuinely intrigued.

"Oh! you won't believe it but it was awesome!"

"More awesome than Crescent Rose?" Yang's teasing voice was followed with a nudge to her sister's side. Ruby would never admitted other weapons better than her baby so imagine her surprise when she does.

"Yes! I've got a few inspirations just by looking at it and I actually compared Crescent Rose's blueprint with it and they came out similiar, too similiar even..." She trailed off in realization.

The overall look out might be different but most of its internal components almost identical minus some additions like power routes she found. Its lower shaft is bigger compared with Crescent Rose's and appears to be detachable, both small supporting rods responsible for collapsing the lower weapon were gone and instead there is this magnetic rod inside the shaft.

The spear-like pointed end also extendable more than Crescent Rose's, and combined with its detachable characteristic it might be an actual spear and could be a stand-alone weapon.

Its gun components also modified greatly. The barrel was refined with thread thus granting it better accuracy in long range and has it firing chamber along with its main chassis reinforced with Atlesian Titanium-A Battleplate, it might be heavier in result but it increased the overall endurance. Ruby wasn't sure how could that woman acquired such high-grade metal since Atlas itself has it so little and Huntress or not they won't just give it.

"On the second thought, they look so similiar it almost like someone copied Crescent Rose."

Yang's brow furrowed together in concern as she grabbed her sister shoulder. "Do you think there's a leak?"

"I'm not sure. There are only handful of people who know Crescent Rose's blueprint and more than half of them are family members." There are Uncle Qrow, her father, possibly Yang, herself and Professor Ozpin...

"Maybe Ozpin?"

"No way! why would he do that?!"

"Just stating the possibility. You know I would never do that since I'm not even remember half of it"

Ruby pouted.

"Crescent Rose is not that complicated, Yang"

"For you maybe. You literally hummed her parts when bathing and have a book full of how to disassemble and reassemble her in hundreds way, all memorized including her blueprint"

The red head turned scarlet in embarassment, she swore she kept it subtle but apparently her sister's sense of hearing match if not surpass one that was Faunus'. "I'll have you know I only _mused_ the parts because they need to be replaced! and I'm not humming them"

"Every morning?"

"SO WHAT IS IT YOU WANT TO SHOW ME?!" Ruby yelled desparately trying to save what little dignity she had, startling Blake and Weiss who after willing her murderous intent to disappear finally settled to stare at both bantering sisters.

"Don't change the subject, Rubes" Yang scolded but her grin gave away any form of seriousness.

"This was _not_ the subject!" She screamed and tried go get up but Yang grabbed her by her hood and pulled her down.

"Now don't be upset" She laughed but as soon as it appeared it's gone and a somber look took its place on her face instead.

Ruby shifted on her seat and for the first time since entering their dorm room felt the gravity of the situation. Blake is more quiet than usual and Weiss actually has her snappy attitude lowered. "What is going on, guys?"

Yang brought up the red hood and Ruby easily recognized it as the one they found in Emerald Forest, her sister has her grip tight on the crimson fabric as she point at its collar where barely visible letters were printed. "It's one of Summer's, Rubes..."

Her heart skipped a beat at the statement and in a flash Ruby has the hood on her hands. She stare at its faded sentence with wide eyes, thumb tracing it almost in silent contemplation. "But how?" She asked quietly and in a room filled with deafening hush it almost equal with a yell.

"I'm not sure... Maybe she found one of those hoods and cloaks I threw..." Her feeling of regret resurfaces and Yang drifted her gaze away from her sister in shame.

"Yang, it's okay." Ruby understood where her sister line of thoughts led to and she doesn't want her to go that way. She has forgiven her since long time ago.

"I'm sorry but whose hoods and cloaks did you throw?" Weiss queried in pure curiousity, despite it however Yang's head hung even lower.

Ruby took it to herself to answer the heiress and she tried to explain. "After Mom was gone our first few weeks were the most difficult. Our dad just shut down and our Uncle was not better by spending most of his time drinking even to this day. They kind of neglected their resposibilities and left two of us alone"

"That was horrible"

Ruby nodded in agreement. "Yang was the most impacted between us two and one day she got so angry she threw Mom's belonging off the cliff, and that including her various collection of hoods and cloaks"

Blake grimaced upon the revealation. So that was what caused her partner reaction earlier.

"She was not the one to deal with abandonement and it was her biggest fear. She just forgot she still has me and you all and that we would never abandon her"

Small arms encircled her middle, Yang hastily return her sister's embrace and smile at her words. "This is suck. I was supposed to be the one comforting you not the other way around"

Ruby laughed and tightened her hug. "It's okay I didn't mind."

_I forgave you since long time ago._

"We have to find that Huntress, Rubes."

Pulling away from her older sister Ruby stare at her in confusion. "I thought you said we should let her come by herself and claim her weapon back"

"There is a... Complication. Try take a sniff of that hood" Blake ordered.

She hesitated but when Yang gave her a nod of assurance Ruby did just that. "It smell like Mom..."

"It smell _like_ your side of Semblance" Yang corrected. "You remember when I explain why your Semblance bound around roses?"

"You mean there's someone out there from Mom's side of family?!"

"That's a possibility, so does she just found it and claimed it"

"Doesn't matter. We should find her regardless since we have her things and I'm sure she wants them back" Ruby stood up and dusted her red hood. "I'm going to finish the weapon then"

Yang quickly grab her sister's hand, preventing her from leaving. "Ruby no. It's late and tomorrow we will have our search so we better rest, right guys?"

Weiss gave the blonde a stiff nod and nudged Blake to do the same. The Faunus was lost in her thought at some point in Ruby's explanation and wasn't listening to what the sisters said.

"Huh? I mean yeah we will"

_Will what?_

Her partner regarded her for a second in suspicion but it quickly morphed to a smile as she adressed her sister. "See? the weapon can wait and I'm sure she won't mind waiting a bit more to have you finish it"

_If we even find her tomorrow._

"Alright geez, you're such a joykiller"

After that RWBY change to their sleeping attires and call it a night. Both red hoods were hung side by side while Ruby spent half of her time changing staring at how different they are. One is clean and completely absent of any tear while the other one is tattered and despite Blake's effort in cleaning it still shows some stain marks.

Ruby knew it has its stories, and she can't wait to ask its owner about them.

**_TBC_**

**Holy cow it's almost if not reach 9k of words.****Consider it as a compensation for the late update. Last week was just so hectic and I couldn't find the right moment to write this next chapter than night time. Which I mostly spent sleeping because of how exhausting the days were lol.**

**You all remember that glimpse we got of Summer? yeah that's why I put this theory about Ruby's Semblance. It's simply fascinating I feel like they should add more attention to it, wouldn't mind another Character Short with Ruby abusing it lmao.**

**I will have to keep this response for reviews brief since this next chapter is too much for my phone to handle, so here it is.**

**First of thank you for your reviews. The fact that the main show itself lack the explanation of time when exactly Ruby entered Beacon after Ozpin's proposal make it a bit difficult and I should improvised, although I said I will keep this as close to canon doesn't mean it's not a fiction. Like I said before the show has some plot holes that can be exploited and I did just that.**

**Again, thank you and keep those reviews coming because I love talking with you guys.**

**P.S: You guys should check this artist in Pixiv under a name RosaKatze. There are these works about RWBY military-styled that got my nerd side of military enthusiast squealed in happiness.**

**See you next time!**

**Cipher032 out!**


	7. Chapter 7: Unveil

**_DISCLAIMER: RWBY BELONG TO ROOSTER TEETH AND ITS ORIGINAL CREATOR MOUNTY OUM (R.I.P)_**

**Enjoy and review.**

**Chapter 7: Unveil.**

The constant and continous ticking sounds around him works as a calming matter to his otherwise raging thoughts. The soft glow of green-ish almost emerald light covering his office is a sight Ozpin prefer during his thinking time when he usually need to keep his head cool.

On his desk a monitor stands activated with its black and white glow as mismatches to the scenery. He crossed his fingers and glared at its center where The Kingdom of Atlas roundel spun absently on the void. The aging professor has half the mind to pour some alcohol to his now cold cup of coffee but certainly someone need him sober enough in their upcoming conversation if that someone bother to use emergency protocol communication.

He usually wasn't the kind of person to just wash his thoughts with arguably deluding liquids but recent events really pushes his mind to its limit he had opened one of his collections and emptied almost half of it in just one night. Not the best record compared to what a dusty old crow commonly took but to him whose drink generally compromised of highly caffeinated beverage and a bit of sugar it was rather much.

There are various reports about mysterious Huntress in red who comes in along the wind and disappears just as quietly in nightfall and would not be seen until later she reveals herself. What intrigued him however was the fact this Huntress only targeted White Fang hideouts all around the City of Vale, rampaging and destroying all of their stolen assets and places which even the police or military didn't know exist. How she found them is beyond him but one more intriguing part got his attention almost immediately the reports were sent to him.

None of the White Fang members were killed in the attack and those who conscious enough described their assailant as _Crimson Reaper_ with clattering teeth and raged breath as if afraid by just saying her name will bring misfortune to them despite nobody was dead.

Ozpin knew however the Huntress do it in purpose. Psychological warfare work as fine as conventional ones and often proved their worth in the battlefield by plummeting troops' morale down. He had seen first hand what a desparate and disorganized army looks like and that hadn't mention the _fear_ to their enemy.

Whoever this Huntress is one thing for certain that she was highly trained and skilled. Taking down an entire hideout is not a small feat, taking down _six_ heavily defended terrorist hideouts in just a month time span alone is not a work ever spoken of before. Maybe she could be useful in his little secret organization if she proven cooperating enough and with that kind of skill he needed she might be.

The monitor beep, drawing the man's attention toward it. Ozpin leant forward a bit in his seat and gives the person on the other line a greeting nod.

"General"

_"Drop the formality, Oz"_

The wizard smiled and pushed his glasses back to hide it behind his hand, he always likes to push Ironwood's button. "So what it is you wish to discuss with me?"

_"First and foremost, are you alone and is this channel secured?"_

"Yes I am and you already know the answer for the latter"

The general paused and regarded the Headmaster of Beacon. _"Very well then"_

_"What you about to hear is Delta-classification secret and by no means this to leave your office"_

Ozpin sat straight and took a sip from his coffee not even caring its cold substances anymore. Delta-classification is the highest categorization form of secrets Atlas military held. Only high ranked people have access to it and what kept are usually nothing but bad news

He's going to finish the remaining half of his opened stock in no time at this rate.

"Surely it is not that urgent?"

Ironwood sighed and he looks like ages older. _"There's been a breach in Atlas Special Operation Command"_

If Ozpin was surprised he hid it pretty well under his stiff expression. "A breach like security breach in your facility or data leaks?"

_"Data leaks. Someone out there knew SOCOM comms procedure"_

"SOCOM is responsible for your specialists and operatives operation assignments, correct?" When the General gave him a nod of affirmation Ozpin continues. "Is it possible one of your agents are compromised?"

_"There are... Not a lot of people knew about this coding but we are still investigating it"_

"May I ask why this have to do with me?" Ironwood doesn't just discuss about Atlas military problem with him unless he was related somehow, he has nothing to do with the far away kingdom anyway at least not directly. Considering how discreet they are it was a wonder he even call in the first place.

_"Oz. The breach is not coming from any place we currently have operatives on. A transmission was sent from the City of Vale containing audio packet approximately a month ago"_

The professor's eyes hardened at the statement and Ironwood must have seen it since his too. "How reliable is this information? and what does the audio says?"

_"This is directly from my top men. It took them a month to decipher the counter-tracking algorithms but it was coming from Vale, they said it was complex and much more advance than what we currently have so they had to start from scratch working just its basic" _He tapped a few commands on his end and a notification popped up on Ozpin's monitor signaling a data transfer completed. _"The content is why I called you to be frank"_

He opened the data and sure enough an audio file was attached to it along with a red 'top secret' mark pulsating below the play button. He gave the General one last glance before inputing the command to play it.

Static emitted from the speakers of his computer for a short while before a voice he couldn't help but feel tad bit familiar filled the buzz. _"Priority message to Iron Bishop. Verification code Sierra-Omega-Charlie-Omega-Mike-Slash-One-One-Eighteen. Subject** Queen has pawn in Research Departement**_ **_code name Watts, Arthur_**_"_

The silence that follow was so heavy the atmosphere felt like it has weight. Both men continue to stare at each other with Ozpin in rarer part in his life has a far away look on his brown eyes. He was familiar with the first few codes but the numbers were totally unknown for him, and the subject also concerning at its best part.

"What does _One-One-Eighteen_ meant?"

_"It's translated as the sender's initial. One-One is repeatance and Eighteen is representing the eighteenth letter in alphabet meaning-"_

"RR" Ozpin deduced, rubbing his temple now a sudden need for alcohol seemingly grew stronger. Its mysterious sender aside, what the subject said is very alarming. Arthur Watts is a renowned scientist in Atlas Research Departement and is spoken for his controversial idea of mechanized army with his latest creations currently under development phases and based from what Ironwood shared will be better than presently commisioned AK-130.

The other one was a mystery even for the Headmaster of Beacon. Ironwood keep it to himself and the only thing he ever said was it would be one of Atlas greatest achievement and could rival CCT itself, and like CCTs it will be a gift from Atlas to the whole Remnant in ending their worst nightmares.

Ozpin didn't buy it one bit knowing full well the General could be too ambitious at times but to say he wasn't interested would be a straight up lie. He was curious what possibly the Kingdom of Innovation has.

"Have you done anything to Mr.Watts?"

_"You know I don't take hunch seriously, and considering how shady this information is I hesitant to take action"_

In one hand it could be a false information since there's no Operatives working under initial name RR enlisted and it could be a trap for some nefarious plan. But on the other one where his instinct told him to listen and at least do what it said was more preferable since his instinct never wrong before.

Ozpin calmly took a sip of his hardly-could-be-called-coffee-now-its-tasteless coffee. "The message was clear and the only people using designation of Queen is us in this secret war. Whoever it was it probably friendly"

_"You don't know that. I've seen the news and reports about this mysterious Huntress running around Vale wiping and raiding White Fang's secret hideouts in the last **one month**. Your assumption may be correct but until it was confirmed by my own I won't take any actions against Watts"_

"And what do you mean with by your own?"

_"I'm sending one of my Specialist to Vale. She will work under the official order to investigate the White Fang and their recently fluctuating activities with the help of local authorities and **other **sources if needed"_

"Well then I'll have you know I will have my own people also looking for the White Fang. Their _activities _could bring... difficulty to my school and being as prestigious as it is I want to keep its name clean"

Ironwood chuckles and gave the professor a smirk in return. _"Good luck in persuading him then. Until next time, Ozpin"_

Ozpin bid his farewell to the man, his smile fading along with his monitor's display and only grew worse as he sat there alone. Opening one of his many drawers, he pulled a half-full bottle of Whiskey and unscrew its cap. He was about to pour its clear inside to his mug of coffee when he suddenly stopped and sighed before dialing one more person. This time instead of mixing the liquids he took a long gulp directly from the bottle while waiting for the person to answer his call which apparently didn't take long.

_"What?"_

He smiled, setting the liquor down with a loud thud to his table he proceeded to answer. "Qrow, do you like snow?"

The heavy sigh he receieved as reply serve to elicted his smile to a grin.

**_~Continue~_**

The City of Vale is known for its safety and high tolerance of its occupants to interspecies relation with Faunus and Human living shoulders to shoulders. The Kingdom of Vale enacted and uphold the belief of equality as its highest point of authority many years since it was borned, thus making the country as one of the best place for Faunus to live on beside Menagerie in term of social norm.

Many refers it as a safe heaven from Grimm threat thanks to the strategic place the city was built on, and with both its unique policy and the safety its provide it was one of the most flourished kingdom in Remnant with its prosperity only rivaled by Atlas. To most it was a dream land in otherwise nightmarish world, but to its people they simply called it home.

Regardless where they came from.

Four foreigners in particular found the city is rather contenting. The climate is nice and its people are pretty good but since they never lived in such city it still feel alien sometime even though none of them show any discomfort at least openly.

To Weiss whom usually spent her days in the cold and plain looking Atlas the change of scenery was a welcome one albeit in times she wonder a few curious glances she receieved were because her oddly pale complexion or the well known snowflake symbol on her back. Either way she did a good job in masking her thought thanks to spending countless time standing in stage doing her performance, although some glares from Faunus around her unnerved her greatly and she found herself occasionally glancing behind her to make sure nobody tried to stab her.

Blake herself has her senses on high alert with eyes scanning the area around her with utmost precision and cat ears frequently twitching to detect even the smallest of sound. She has a newly sharpened Gambol Shroud strapped on her back ready to be pulled in case its owner need it but she really hope she doesn't. Say whatever people likes but living outside the safety of kingdoms has her become paranoid especially after encountering Grimms and other unexpected difficulty in a more unexpected time.

Luxury makes people weak and she refuses to be weak.

Of all team RWBY it was probably only the sisters who tried to look things at its best. Patch is one of Vale's territory so the capital city is not that much of difference with the small island other than its larger buildings and more crowdy people. Basically they are natives on Vale so people barely paid any attention to them at least unlike they do to both Blake and Weiss.

Ruby always like to visit the City of Vale and its famous Beacon Academy and now not just her dream came true but also she is one of the student in Beacon, something she didn't think she would be at least until a few years from now. Sometime she still had trouble believing the fact and must be reminded by the ever so kind Weiss that she is indeed one of the student and _must _attend the responsibility it carries, whenever she doesn't feel like to study that's it.

Yang was the most used living in the city. She was more to city girl and destined to venture it even before she could walk according to her father. Every corners and sides she had stepped her foot on and every corners and sides have their story where she beat some bad guys almost in night-basis. Ask her everything about Vale's capital and she would lead you even to a grain of sand in one if its sidewalks.

Deep down however they knew their home is the small city of Patch where things are simpler and easier. The place where they spent most of their childhood and better memories on with their half intact family and not here in this city's height and glory. Home was the place where there are people thinking about you, waiting for you to come back even in the darkest hour.

Of course that also meant this city is their second home now. There are people waiting for them back at Beacon to return and worrying about them, second family that just as precious as their own called friends. Those who had share their laugh and concern in the same way as their own fathers and mothers had, people that cares for them like their uncles and aunts would and the sisters and brothers they never have, all there.

Despite it was it wrong for a little girl to look out for one of her relative? No, not in the slighest and nobody with right mind would say yes.

"The weather is nice don't you think?"

"Really? the weather? that's all you could bring out to start a conversation?"

Yang crossed her arms and leant on the metallic guard railing separating the sidewalk and shallow sea. They have arrived at one of Vale's main ports and been venturing around for hours since the start of their search and so long nothing has come out yet. "Well for starter we all need rest and Blake and Weiss over there seem like they are expecting an ambush or a bomb to goes off"

"Huh?" The pair said in unison finally breaking from their trance.

"Loosen up a bit. Nobody would start a fight with Huntresses-in-training in the middle of noon especially when _I'm_ around"

"I must have had an early symptom of heatstroke because I found comfort from that statement" Weiss declared, staggering on her heels before she rests her body heavily on the same railing Yang's at and stare absently toward the ocean.

The blonde haired girl grinned and turned her attention toward her partner. "What about you Blakey? meltdown already?"

"I... Have to sit down" Being a Faunus has its perks and better physical endurance is one of them. But sometime Blake wonder does Ruby really is a human or something else with that seemingly never ending stream of energy she has. The girl literally had her morning spent bouncing on her feet and zipping everywhere in their dorm room in excitement scattering rose petals all the way she went. Even though she merely watched Blake can't help but feel tired from just seeing Ruby in action, even the upset look Weiss sent their leader's way didn't feel as satisfying as usual.

The red head's gaze lingered on her friends for a moment before she dropped it to the floor in shame as she registered their not so good condition. Yang might tried to conceal it but the way she swallowed hard gave away any attempt she had to fool everyone she was okay and could continue this for more. She may not in the worse state as Blake and Weiss whom respectively seems like ready to drop out cold from exhaustion with Weiss barely standing and Blake didn't even masked her aches as she sat on nearby bench massaging her feet.

Ruby occasionally needed to remind herself not everyone has super speed and high energy reserve like she does. Her rather hyperactive personality was a part of her Semblance, and she just couldn't stand still for moments without sudden urge to burn her excess energy away. Of course it has its perks like how she would heal faster than most people and how her muscles have better endurance than even a Faunus' but like everything else there are the downs too. Medicines and drugs are not working like how they supposed to when it comes to her since her body would just wash them away in minutes especially when she has her Semblance activated and while the illness usually also goes away fast the same cannot be said to the pain.

Her seemingly infinite craving for sweet is not without reason since her needs of energy resources are higher to compensate her abnormally quick metabolism. Weiss can say whatever she wants about her dying from Diabetes but Ruby know it would never happen at least not decades from now.

"I'm sorry, guys" Ruby said softly, shuffling on her feet still refusing to look at her friends in the eyes. Her failure to look at her teammates' well being didn't do her justice and she felt like a terrible leader for neglecting her team over her own personal gain.

"Don't be, Rubes. We know what we gotten ourselves into and we agree to this"

"We just need a bit of rest and after this we can continue our search" Blake added to console her leader. The smaller girl is confused and need answer, something Blake want to help her find.

When Ruby didn't answer and still had her downcast look on Weiss finally settled to change the subject. "I still think Penny is a weird girl" She stated to no one in particular, still leaning on the railing this time staring at a ship being unloaded.

"How so? She's an Atlesian just like you" Yang said, shifting her weight so she can look at the white haired girl.

"That mean nothing, Atlas also has some weird people"

"My point exactly"

Icy blue eyes glared toward the blonde weakly but the gesture was merely and act so Weiss could look at her partner through her peripheral. Ruby had pulled herself off her thought and like her also looking at the port absently, her nose occasionally twitching and her face would morphed to one of disgust.

"She seems like a nice girl though although her social skill is worse than someone I know" Blake chimed in from her place flatly. She sniffed the air to _savor_ the lingering smell of fish and been considering to buy some to keep it in stock for later. Freshly caught fishes always taste better than what they sold in the markets afterall.

"Hey it's not like I often interact with people so don't blame me for it" Ruby knew that someone Blake refered to is her and she found herself heating up from embarassment. Regardless a sudden urge to defend her new friend surfacing. "Penny is not weird, she just unique and rather unusual"

"Said the girl who kissed her weapon goodnight every time she store it" Weiss muttered in return, earning a chuckle from Yang.

The hooded girl recoiled as if hurt and has her weapon craddled in hands in its compact form. "Weiss! don't say that you're hurting Crescent Rose's feeling!" She shifted her attention toward the weapon and caress its surface lovingly. "Don't worry aunty Weiss didn't mean what she said, she just being moody today"

Weiss groaned and buried her face between her hands.

"Good God what have I done to deserve this" She whimpered as Ruby continues to cooed Crescent Rose unaware with how Blake stare at her in amusement.

Before the ravenette could say anything however two policemen rush forward past them to one of cargo ships in hurry, drawing whole RWBY's attention to them as they came to stop and begin yelling to someone. At first it was unclear who but suddenly a monkey Faunus jumped from the ship's railing to the dock and hung upside down with his tail as support from one of the post lamps with a freshly peeled banana in hand, seeing this both police officers yelled more to him but the only answer they recieved was a face full of banana skin from the Faunus which only serve to agitate them even more.

Weiss's unimpressed gaze stays with the boy as he runs from the officers toward them, he paid them little attention except to Blake who receieved a knowing wink when he passed her but otherwise nothing. She stared at the boy's retreating form with wide eyes.

"What a scoundrel"

Blake blinked.

She search for the source of the statement until her gaze settled on Weiss. Both sisters look at her in surprise over her blunt statement but the heiress just merely straightened her posture.

"What did you say?"

"You heard me"

The nonchalant tone Weiss gave her spike off anger in Blake's chest. She had come to tolerate her and her rather openly baseless dislike toward Faunus along with her ways of expressing it but even her has her line she should never step past.

"And why is that, _Schnee?_ was it because he is a Faunus?" Blake stood up and seizes the heiress with a glare, standing merely feet away from her in challenge.

The height gap was greatly noticeable but despite it Weiss met Blake's gaze with the same intensity. "One of the reasons. Given enough time he probably would join those degenerates in White Fang and start bombing and killing civilians"

"You do realize what you said is plain racist, right? You can't judge whole just because of a splinter of it"

"But that splinter is what caused the bleeding, not the whole wood. People would be wary to the woods which have splinters on it"

"Every woods could have splinters, Weiss!"

Their argument goes back and forth, leaving both sisters to swivel their heads around. Ruby didn't know how but she found herself standing close to Yang when Weiss almost yell at Blake whom returned the gesture in equal intensity, both of her hands calsped together in concern.

"Should we be worried about this?" The red head asked meekly, she has half the mind to break them off but too afraid to do it.

Yang hesitate to answer, she really didn't know should they or not. Weiss and Blake always have this disagreement about Faunus and like her sister she too was afraid, but unlike the smaller girl her fear was because of the truth Blake hides. Weiss's dislike toward Faunus is somehow justified, she literally grow up with constant threat from White Fang and Faunus in general for being born as a Schnee, Yang also had seen those news years ago about how her family members were slaughtered by the White Fang and she knew the heiress' scars aren't just consisted of physical ones.

It was rather ironic really. Weiss never asked to be born as a Schnee and so did Blake as Faunus. Both carries their burden from the day they were borned but the world forged them to despise one another while in actual they have so much in common. The only differences they have was one shackled by royalty while the other was by fate.

"I-" Yang started but was interrupted by a police officer coming their way.

"Ladies, you didn't happen to see my men around here did you?"

The arguing girls stopped and all members of team RWBY turned their attention to the voice.

"We did, they went that way chasing a Faunus" Ruby pointed to where she last saw the Faunus went along with both officers.

The man sighed heavily and pinched the bridge of his nose in exasperation. He muttered something about decking those idiots but none of the girls sure. "You guys Huntresses?"

"Well not exactly, still enrolling at Beacon as first year student"

"Beacon, eh? it's getting hard to distinguish which from which lately it's gotten crowdy here in Vale"

The Vytal Festival isn't due for months but people been flocking to Vale early. It's a great opportunity to visit the kingdom and its well known Beacon Academy either tourists and fellow students from other kingdoms have found interesting. Most foreign Huntsmen-in-training thought it's a perfect time to learn about Beacon and its reputation in forging the best Hunters and Huntresses ever lived while those rather competitive ones considers it as an unofficial stage to test their skills.

"It's not like it can be help. Let them see our kingdom and _experience_ it first hand" Yang said enthusiastically, flexing her arms while grinning widely.

The man chuckles but it faded when his eyes settled on a far away place, his expression shifted to a frown. "Yeah, but this matter need to be concluded soon"

"What matter?" Ruby asked genuinely curious. But when the man's face hardened she instantly regret her question, she was about to apologize when his eyes suddenly settled on her's.

"You all still students but Huntresses nonetheless. Consider this as extra lecture for you four" He gestured with his head for them to follow and after a brief of hesitation team RWBY did just that.

"Wait, where are we going?"

"Somewhere I supposed to be. I'm sure you kids have seen the news"

**_~Continue~_**"Hey Rubes, I've been meaning to ask how is the weapon?"

They rounded another alleyway still following the man whom revealed himself as a Captain from Vale Police Departement. Earlier he was on his way back to the recent crime scene they currently investigating only his men to be sidetracked by a woman reporting a suspicious Faunus in Vale's port. Both has taken off fearing the said Faunus was affiliated with White Fang and with how high the tension is their fear kind of reasonable.

Ruby eyed a Dust shop at the end of the road, making mental note to visit it later to check on some latest update of weapons magazine and buy some extra supply. Yang's mention of the weapon reminded her she also could use some new blades as replacement for its missing and heavily damaged ones.

"I'm still working on its lower component, haven't touch the upper where the blades were. Shouldn't be that hard I think it uses the same built like Crescent Rose is"

"You mean that Ree... Mi... Uh... What was it called again?"

"ReMFe. Rear-end, Middle, Forward-end. Seriously Yang it wasn't that hard, in fact it's the easier built compared with Uncle Qrow's _all-or-nothing_ princip" ReMFe is refering to how a Scythe main blades are arranged separately. Ruby created Crescent Rose based off this princip, beside easier to base on it also offer compatibility for further upgrades and require less time and effort during maintenance. Unlike Uncle Qrow's Broadsword Quick Action Shotgun-Scythe which uses the old doctrin of all-or-nothing, Crescent Rose's built is less complicated than Harbinger but doesn't mean less lethal even slightest bit.

Sure Harbinger might be sturdier because its blades were reinforced directly by its chassis, but its doctrin has one fatal flaw that made people considers it obselete and shift toward ReMFe instead and that was how a single devastasting strike can make the weapon fail altogether since its transformation mechanism is connected to its chassis.

At least with ReMFe Ruby won't need to worry about her baby breaking apart in a fight, when a blade was chipped it won't affect the others and the worst thing which could happen during transformation at that state was the repair it follow later on.

"Well I'm sorry but I'm not a nerd when it comes to weapons and you know Scythe wielder is rare these days"

It's a fundamental fact Scythes are hard to wield unlike other weapons. There are so little people still using Scythe type of weapon but those who do are considered as the best Huntsmen and seeing at the girl walking beside her who could slaughter an entire pack of Beowolves without breaking a breath and sweat Yang couldn't agree more. Ruby's a remarkable Scythe wielder even at her young age, her hand-to-hand and Close-Quarter-Combat skill might be terrible but at more than arm length she could turn your victory to mud sack easily. That's why whenever they spare Yang would emphasize on CQC even though Ruby would always whine how she doesn't like to punch things and prefer to cut and nailed them with blades and .50 cal bullets instead.

The blonde was not sure how could such horrendeous statement be spoken in _such_ innocent tone.

"You are a Scythe user, young lady?" The officer asked, leading them to one of the warehouse where his fellow workers were attending their duty.

Ruby paused and look around the area, noticing how the warehouse's windows were broken and its reinforced door was missing. There was a hole on the wall and judging from the way its bricks and concrete were positioned it seems someone was flung out from it.

"Yeah I am"

"What she said is true you know? there's not much Scythe wielder out there. In fact I only ever met one guy, someone by the name Qrow Branwen"

"Oh! He's our Uncle and was the one who taught me actually!"

He hummed in response, bending forward so he could bypass the police line with RWBY following close. "That makes a lot of sense"

Blake who's been quiet since their walk sniffed the air and grimace from the smell. She was too busy glaring at Weiss to caring what the Captain and his two teammates were talking about but she did catch a few phrases about White Fang and _her_ from the policemen around her. Who is _her _they were refering to she's not certain.

They've entered the warehouse and the view that greeted them was somehow an expected one. Crates and tables were scattered all over the place and some hint of red Blake know pretty well what splattered on their surfaces. The ravenette dare a glance toward the younger member of her team to gauge her reaction but all she got was a rather impassive look the red head display.

"What happened here?" Ruby asked, gesturing to the place they stood at.

"What always been happening lately. This was one of White Fang hideouts, one they used to store their stolen goods. At least that was what it was until a mysterious Huntress in red came last night and left it in shamble"

They have seen the news, but the reports paid so little detail to who caused it and more focused at how people seen this as another succesful attempt to destroy the White Fang. So far this was the sixth hideouts uncovered and raided in Vale and while it hasn't been officially announced yet it actually cause the White Fang activity in Vale to dwindle.

Blake picked up a shattered piece of painfully familiar Grimm mask, holding it close for inspection. "How many were killed?"

"Zero. Worst thing happened to these thugs are broken bones and a slight bleeding that wasn't proven fatal at all"

Weiss scoffed and crossed her arms. "She should have killed them all"

Horrified by the heiress disturbing statement both sisters look at her in surprise while Blake averted her eyes to stare at the floor.

"Weiss..."

"She should have killed them all and get rid of these degenerates, they are nothing but cancer that needed to be eliminated! An obstacle from reaching peace and stability"

Ruby recoiled and put her hands at her chest, willing her heart to stop pounding so loudly. She knew Weiss didn't mean what she said but hearing her saying such vile words had her worry. "Weiss you didn't mean it"

"And what if I did?!" She shot back hotly, grinding her teeth together in anger. "I was a victim just like everyone else the White Fang had hurt, it might be not directly but it was the reasons I couldn't spend my time staring at mirror without breaking down because of what I saw!"

"W-what do you mean?"

"Father is a strict person" She began slowly, eyes cold as her current mood. "He was very demanding and always require perfection either in his work or family. The White Fang plays a big role in making his work _imperfect_ and he would just snap whenever a cargo of Dust goes off or a whole mining facility crumbled down. Each time that happened he would go further and further to a person he is today, a man who take profit more than anything as an act of revenge"

She traced a finger to the scar at her left eye. "One day during one of my training something went off with the mechanical practice robot Father brought me causing it malfunctioned and tried to kill me. Of course it failed to but it nearly cost me an eye" She chuckle darkly, reminscing that fateful day in her mind. "Mother was so worried but Father... Well he demand perfection and when he saw his daughter is permanently misshappen he expressed it rather viciously... To me"

"But all the Faunus wants is equality!"

"And what is the White Fang doing?! Killing innocences so people would be afraid of Faunus?!"

"Through chaos is how our voices only be heard!" Blake nearly shouted. Her breathing went out raged as she dare the heiress to say otherwise but when Blake registered the look of surprise Weiss and Ruby sent her way along with grimace Yang has she finally realized what she had said.

_Oh no..._

"What do you mean with _our__?_"

"I uh..." Panic began to build up on her chest Blake look at the Captain in resignation but the impassive look he gave her only serve to agitate her even more.

"Is there something you are hiding from us?" Weiss hissed, stalking toward the ravenette ominously.

Blake didn't know what to do and before she realize it her instinct already got her feet moving in speed no human could achieve unless Ruby with her Semblance activated.

She bursted through the entrance and continue to run, ignoring the shout her teammates gave her. Hot tears start to spill from her eyes as she leapt from building to building until she finally stop on a dark alleyway where she slid down and continues to cry.

She thought she could bury her secret until the time she graduate from Beacon from her teammates and friends but fate played a cruel joke at first by putting her on the same team as Weiss _Schnee_ and now this.

Not for the first time in her life Blake didn't know what to do.

**_TBC_**

**Heyyyyyy I'm back.**

**So yeah my update is kind of lagging nowadays and I will try to fix it back to previous 3-4 days schedule. The reason I keep cranking this up is because when I lost an interest I tend to abandon my story, something we all don't want to happen hm?**

**Also Harbinger? heck yeah I love that name. Fit it perfectly if you guys ask me.**

**This chapter is the usual portion 6k of words since I want to upload it fast, doesn't mean there won't be longer chapters in the future even if I update fast lol. Anyway you probably know what the next chapter will be about, but make no mistake I won't kill you with boredom by supplying what basically is the novelization of RWBY volume 1.**

**_Responses for review_**

**Kevin Bakeland: Nah mate, thanks for staying here with me. I'm the one who should be grateful.**

**merendinoemiliano: I'll do my best to keep it interesting :)**

**PsychoStorys: Thanks for the heads up, minor stuff like this is what easily forgotten by me. I know there are alot of grammatical mistakes in my story but English is just so hard you know.**

**JakeTheSpades: ****Bro the way you depicted it make it sounds like Crescent Rose is growing up and I love it. Also I specified Ruby still working on the shaft which also works as Sniper part and she hasn't yet to touch the blade holder. Though I guess I didn't think of her bloodied hand when wielding the weapon but oh well just don't dwell on it too much.**

**I didn't said Summer went to confront Salem, for all possibility she was ambushed on her way or assasinated.** **I will left this to readers' imagination though.**

**Future Ruby seems unbothered by the fact her hood and scythe are not with her is a part of her character development to be honest. She has changed and matured so much she act like how a Huntress should be; purposeful and focused to reach her objective and her objective only. Right now her main weapon and hood aren't in the top priority she just disregard them for later. (I know I'm surprised too)**

**That concluded it, I see you guys on the next chapter and as usual please reviews!**

**Cipher032 out!**


	8. Chapter 8: Encounter

**_DISCLAIMER: RWBY BELONG TO ROOSTER TEETH AND ITS ORIGINAL CREATOR MONTY OUM (R.I.P)_**

**Enjoy and review.**

**Chapter 8: Encounter.**

"Tell me what you know"

"You just arrived, why don't you sit down to catch up with an old friend"

"I don't have time for chit chat"

"Did he send you to me?"

"In a way yes. Now the information, Ed"

_Ed _sighed. "How much do you know?"

"Other than the glorified reports and articles filling the Net and news about the job well done by VPD and military? Not much. I want the unofficial and unreleased statement from you"

"Honestly what we knew is not much either. Six White Fang hideouts raided, no casualty, culprit is an unverified Huntress and major property damage. What we manage to gather from the custodies were nothing but frantic and nearly panic nonsenses"

"And what exactly did they say?"

A pause as Ed regard the man infront of him with an annoyed look. He has job to do and this guy after months of absence decide to just show up at his office looking like he just travel all across the continent without stop, which exactly what he did it seems. "Look, are you sure you don't want to have a drink? I'm serious when I said we could do some catch up"

"I'm good, I carry my own supply"

"Very well then. So after calming them enough we finally managed to have them talking. Each said almost identical thing when we asked them to retell the scene; A Huntress in red showed up carrying a Dust-Infused Powerblade and start attacking them, when they countered she would just disappear into nothing but rose petals and-"

"Hold on, _rose _petals?"

"Yeah"

A nod. "Go on"

"And the next thing they know one by one of their friends is gone leaving nothing but blood curling scream somewhere away"

"You know the purpose of that don't you?"

"Yep. Psychological warfare. Pretty well done actually. Those who left behind especially the last few persons shows an early symptom of PTSD"

"Well it is not a pleasant experience hearing your friends' dying scream echoes in the dark. Thanks for the information, Ed. We can have that drink later when I'm not busy"

"You always busy these days..." If his companion hear it he certainly didn't show it. "I met your nieces today, Qrow"

Qrow stopped dead in his track, fists clenching tight. "Did they get in trouble again?"

"Nah, they're good. This time I was the one who came to them not the other way around" he chuckled dryly. "Did Ozpin know he has a former member of White Fang as his student?"

"He did. Oz is not stupid and if he thinks it was fine then it's fine"

"I can see why he thinks it's fine. That Ruby girl looks exactly like her you know?"

"Yeah... I need to constantly remind myself she is gone whenever I stare at that face and eyes. Didn't help it she gets older" Qrow shrugged, casting the man a teasing look. "Later, _Captain_"

"Drop it you jerk"

He laughed in return. "Thank you for the information though, and consider this as early warning; next time someone ask you the same question you'd be better off offering tea"

**_~Continue~_**

Blake hasn't returned the next day.

The lost teammate is now their top priority they postpone their search for the mysterious Huntress to look out for Blake instead. What was left of RWBY has been on it for hours but unlike before none of them show any exhaustion from scaling the vast city of Vale, none of the girls actually do care with their own well being at this point and won't rest until they find their friend.

Pushing the door open Ruby stepped outside of one of many shops in Vale, not paying even a slightest of attention to the sudden rush of hot air washing her body. Behind her Yang and Weiss followed suits with the former's voice of gratitude to the shop's owner is the only one representing theirs'.

Weiss has gone oddly quiet these last few hours, she hasn't said a word since they commenced their search and only a few short phrases as responses to the sisters' when they asked a few questions the very same morning. Heck last night when they returned to their dorm room the heiress didn't even bother to change to her night gown and just went on to sleep in her combat attire.

Ruby who decided to share a bed with Yang that night to not bother the clearly in distress heiress caught Weiss tossing and turning in her sleep almost in restless manner. She was certain she heard a few sniffles and sobs but amidst Yang's snoring Ruby's not so sure. She would have reconcile her partner if she wasn't just as affected by the whole situation.

She didn't admit it but the main reason she slept with Yang was because the comforting warm her older sister radiates. Ruby could have jumped to her own side of bunk beds without breaking a sound but she knew she would have cried her eyes out if she was alone. Her team was falling apart and she felt like it was her fault for causing them to split.

Ruby always have this one question at the back of her mind, one that was fed by insecurity. Weeks ago when Ozpin enacted her as the team leader was it because she really fit as one or because there was no other choice?

She knew she was not the best candidate and sometime she wonder what if Weiss was the one as their leader? The white haired girl _wished _to be and she was pretty vocal about it afterall. If anything Ruby actually believes the heiress was more than capable to lead the team than even herself, she had learned and practically live her life to lead others since the day she was old enough to talk.

Maybe that was one of the main reasons why Ruby appointed Weiss as second in command of team RWBY if something ever happened to her.

Blake also has some traits that should qualify her as team leader. Her cool headed demeanor and thorought examination of situational awareness nearly perfect and the way she dispose of threats with utmost precision was nearly unmatched. Overall she was usually the planner in team RWBY.

Yang was the heart and muscle of their team, those are the roles she filled in this little misfit. Her older sister's infectious courage and cheerful attitudes were so bright it shone even during the gloomier of day, none of them said anything about it other than Weiss who would protest the heat in their dorm room but deep down even Ruby knew she difn't fully mean it because it was the kind of heat that remind them of the people they love. Her older sister is like a motherly figure to them and as painful as it to remember none of them had ever fully experience how it feel to be loved by one it was just as comforting.

Those also should have qualified her more than Ruby.

Even now Yang seems rather unbothered by this whole situation and if Ruby didn't know any better she would have thought her sister doesn't care at all. But yesterday when Blake ran off she could see a hint of knowing look passed by those velvet eyes as she held Ruby's arm to prevent her from chasing after Blake.

_"Yang! What are you doing?! let me go!"_

_"Blake needs time to think, Rubes. It's better for her to stay alone for now" Yang said sympathetically. Her grip was strong around her younger sister's arm which only relaxed when she was sure Ruby won't burst to a cloud of rose petals._

_"Are you sure this is the right decision? Blake seems pretty upset"_

_"Trust me, she's my partner afterall and I know her better than **any **of you" The blonde brawler crossed her arms and shifted her attention toward Weiss. "And you, princess, you better start thinking of your belief because I'm sure you're questioning them right now"_

Weiss was.

The revelation that she was sleeping in the same room and living her days with a Faunus whose also a former member of a terrorist organization which one of its main reasons existing was to get rid of her bloodline shook her to the core.

It's not the fact of how close she was with a _being _she thought as nothing but monster no. It was actually how normal things were with Blake. They have studied, eaten and shared some jokes like how normal friends would have done and any other _people_ would do. Sure there were arguments between them but aren't friends usually argue too? perhaps not as intense as them but now with all unveiled it actually made much more sense why Blake defended the Faunus and White Fang as if they were her own relatives.

Because in a way they are.

Weiss didn't sure what to make of the whole situation, but what the Captain said yesterday still ringing inside her head.

_"I know how a terrorist looks like when I see one, and your friend didn't seem like one"_

Blake might be the quiet one but her actions speaks volume of what she believes. She rarely said it out loud to Weiss she has her dislikes to her but her glares unnerved the heiress more than any words could. She would find herself stiffening the moment those almost golden gaze settled on her back and Weiss had to use every ounce of self control she has to not squirm under it.

She had nightmare last night when she was asleep. The Blake in her dream never returned back after she ran away from them and they never seen her until years later. Blake had changed so much she was back with the White Fang and Weiss was forced to watch her slaughters innocences and both Yang and Ruby right infront of her all the while saying things she afraid the most.

_"It's your fault I become like this"_

Weiss couldn't look at both sisters without having her mind reeled back to the image of Blake slitting Yang's throat open and how she stabbed Ruby again and again while the younger girl cried for her to stop all the same time calling Weiss's name throught her gurgled dying breath.

She had awoken drenched in cold sweat and heart pounding so loudly she felt it ready to burst out anytime. Weiss first reaction was to look at the bunk beds opposite of her's hoping yesterday's event was nothing but nightmare, but when she saw the empty space on the lower bed and two figures sprawled on the upper she knew it wasn't a nightmare. She swore she saw Ruby's eyes blinked but in the dark she wasn't so sure.

The relief that followed later when she realized both sisters were fine was a welcomed breeze in a hot day but the sing-sang voice dying Ruby in her dream uttered haunted her even until now.

_"Black the beast descends from shadows..."_

She shuddered, wrapping her arms around her body in an attempt to comfort herself. The empty look and bloodied face Ruby had and how Blake stood beside the imaginary with Gambol Shroud unsheathed and poised to Weiss was a sight she would never forget in her life.

"This is not going to work, I propose we split up so we can cover more area and save time" Yang suddenly said, pulling the heiress out of her trance.

Ruby halted on her steps and sighed tiredly. She didn't like the idea of splitting up after what had happened but Yang was right. "Okay, I'll look near Vale's port bay since that was where we last saw Blake ran off. Weiss can search near shopping district in case Blake was buying some supply and you can look out on Vale's Memorial Park, she usually needs some peaceful places to think"

"Actually sis, I think I would stay by Weiss's side, she look rather tired and I don't want her to faint in the middle of nowhere"

"I'm fine" Weiss hissed in response, squaring her shoulders to make her point across. Yang however didn't seem to buy it one bit and disregard what the heiress said.

"You go on alone, Rubes"

"I said I'm fine, Yang!"

"No you are not!" Yang snapped back, silencing the smaller girl. "You seem like you haven't have enough sleep and your skin is paler than usual. Say whatever you want, Weiss, but I can see it you are anything but fine"

She was about to protest but Ruby cut her off. "Okay then you guys go on check the shopping district, it's closer from here and if you find anything use your Scrolls to notify me are we clear?"

"Crytsal" Yang winked at her sister before she grabbed one of Weiss's hands and drag her away, just like she had expected the heiress didn't even show much resistance than usual.

"Let me go, Yang!"

She didn't let her go until they rounded a corner and away from Ruby. The blonde turned on her heels to look at Weiss and fixed her with a stern look. "It's not your fault, Weiss"

Being used to Yang nearly telephatic capability to read on people's mind Weiss didn't even try to deny it. "But it is! Blake is gone because I couldn't keep my thought for myself! If only I was a bit more considering this won't happened in the first place"

"Look Weiss, I agree what you did is wrong but it's not your fault for not believing a Faunus after what you have gone through. This matter will come out eventually and I'm glad it happened after we have known each other for a while, the cat is out of the bag now and all we can to do is to look for it" The blonde paused, meeting Weiss's gaze with a burning glare. "Beside I don't think Blake will appreciate it of you thinking bad things about Faunus. Believe it or not it's best for you to say it out loud rather than to bury it for yourself"

Weiss nodded numbly and wrapped her arms tighter, despite the warm emanating from the sun above she felt oddly cold and empty. The scar on her left eye also been throbbing for no apparent reason and she occasionally would touch it to make sure it's not bleeding again.

Seeing this Yang put her arm around Weiss's shoulders and flared her Semblance to give her a sense of comfort. It worked because the heiress loosened her arms a bit and leant on her soothing fire. "C'mon, let's find something to eat. I know you haven't eaten breakfast this morning and it's already time for lunch"

Yang started to guide her but Weiss resist weakly. "But Ruby-"

"Ruby is fine, she would still have enough energy until tomorrow if she just restrain herself from using her Semblance. Beside she's a big girl and if something happen she would call us, remember?"

"I guess..."

Yang hid a grin behind her blonde strands of hair, Weiss's stubborn attitude is easier to crack when her mind is cloudy. Normally she would need to blackmail the heiress with one of some embarassing _evidence_ she found just to have her move a foot but as Yang dragged the white haired girl on her side all the while not removing her arm she can't help but feel saddened with Weiss's condition.

"It's going to be fine, Weiss"

_Everything is going to be fine..._

**_~Continue~_**

"What?! No! Where was that idea coming from?!"

"Well you certainly mentioned she is not what you think she was and I concluded your friend Blake probably was a man"

Ruby groaned and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Penny, Blake _is_ a woman, it's just she..."

"She is what, Ruby?"

The red head hesitated to reveal the fact and she found herself staring at her combat boots. "Penny... Blake is a Faunus"

Silence overtook the duo with Ruby practically refusing to look at Penny. She didn't want to tell anyone that Blake is a Faunus if the ravenette herself opted to hide her identity knowing full well it was a privacy Blake has. But Ruby just couldn't leave Penny in the dark now she too is a friend.

"You mean you didn't know?"

_Wait, what?_

"Wait, what? You knew Blake is a Faunus?!"

"Well isn't that obvious?"

Her jaw dropped and Ruby start to frantically shake the orange haired girl in disbelief. "But how?! Blake never said anything to you did she?!"

Penny grabbed both the offending appendages to calm and stop Ruby from shaking her. "Her bow" She said simply, pointing abover her head.

"You mean she probably hides her Faunus trait under it?!"

"She definitely hides her trait under it. I detected some odd movement from it and after calculating the direction and speed which the wind blew it came out unmatching"

"You did wha- You know, I don't care. That's make a lot of sense plus Blake always like to eat fish" She paused before a grin broke up on her face. "You think she has these cute little cat ears under her bow?"

"Probably. It's too small to be fox so it might be cat"

Ruby giggled at the thought of Blake sprouting extra pair of ears but as soon as it appears it's gone. She didn't understand why would Blake hide such thing, if anything the ears should have made her more beautiful and beside they were a part of who she was. Sure being a Faunus has its difficulty but Ruby is not one of those people who looks at Faunus like they are some sort of animals, even Weiss never called any Faunus animal and she _dislike_ them like how they dislike her.

Blake is a good person like any other of her friends, to have people hating her was surreal for the red head. She always been the one to stay back to watch her friends' backs and silently offering her support. Since then Ruby never afraid to shadows anymore knowing the shadows were on her side when Blake's around.

The sun almost settled on the horizon and its golden glow is the only source of light both girls have as they strode on otherwise darkening street. Ruby occasionally would check on her Scroll to message Yang but so far her older sister hasn't said anything worth noting.

_"We're on our way to regroup with you. Stay where you are"_

She sighed as she read the latest message from Yang. It seems their search for today is almost concluded. Blake hasn't been found yet and the unease in Ruby's chest grew to a concern for the ravenette whereabout.

_"Okay, I'm with Penny so don't worry about me walking alone"_

The three dots signaling her sister is typing almost entrancing and Ruby found herself staring at it in anticipation until finally Yang finished.

_"You with that weirdo?"_

A scowl formed up on her face and Ruby started to type furiously back.

_"She's not a weirdo, Yang! Stop calling her that"_

With a forceful shove Ruby has her Scroll pocketed, not caring when it buzzed again from her sister reply. Picking up her pace she walks forward leaving Penny to follow her from behind with a soft smile plastered on her face as she stared at the red hood fluttering along the wind.

_Thank you, Ruby._

**_~Continue~_**

The Kingdom of Vale is different with other kingdoms in a lot of way.

It was arguably the most unique kingdom in Remnant. The strategic position the kingdom at not only offers protection but also grant them a perfect trading route between the three other kingdoms. It literally stood in the middle of Atlas, Vacuo and Mistral, thus giving it a perfect opportunity to gain the other kingdoms' valuable resources.

In addition to its local produces all imports are responsible for Vale's welfare, and considering how safe the kingdom is it allows them to stretch its distribution of gained resources to all of its city enabling equal measurement of price.

Vale is surrounded by sea, meaning through sea is where the goods coming from. It would be normal for the prestigious kingdom to have countless amount of ports and warehouse complexes built almost in every major city it has.

So Blake wonder, of all places why would they choose the one on Vale's capital? Place where the kingdom military is heavily concentrated on? But most importantly why only Dust?

She bit her lip when another rumbling sound resonated from her empty stomach. Blake hasn't eaten all day and the only sustenance she had was a cup of tea earlier that afternoon. That was roughly 6 hours ago now the sun has settled leaving the world dark and a hungry Blake laying on her belly above a cold cemented concrete of a building.

Wasn't the worst thing she ever experienced though.

A pair of boots landed graciously behind her and one of Blake's cat ears perked up alarmed by the noise. But once the first step was taken she easened up almost immediately in recognition.

"You're late"

"Well yeah you see when we don't exactly sure with when the people we are expecting for arriving to appear it's not exactly late _late_"

Blake sighed slightly annoyed by the carefree attitude. Rolling her body to look at her companion she fixed him with a stern look. "What were you doing, Sun?"

Sun is the monkey Faunus they saw earlier in the dock. Shortly after Blake ran away he found her in her little alleyway of misery and despair and as if to live up his name he helped her to see reasons with his bright easy going attitude. He even kind enough to let her stay in a motel room where he said his buddy supposed to stay at but couldn't make it due to some business he still had to attend back at Haven.

Surprised by the hospitality Blake didn't even remember she hasn't eaten the whole day or the fact Sun is a student just like her. She thought he was just another random Faunus with his unusual... Outfit. But now staring at the giant staff strapped on his back and what were on his hands Blake couldn't remember even more.

"What do you bring?"

"Uh... Apples? I didn't see you eaten anything so I took it upon myself to bring you dinner" He tossed the green fruit to Blake who effortlessly caught it. When she didn't eat it right away Sun rolled his eyes in disbelief. "I bought them, it's just difficult to find an open fruit store this late"

"If you say so..." She trailed off, eyeing the fruit in her hands before reluctantly taking a bite. The moment its sweet taste exploded in her mouth Blake didn't even try to mask her hunger as she devour it in less than half a minute.

Sun chuckles and another apple sailed through the air to her direction. "There, another one for you. Keep it slow I don't want you to choke yourself to death"

The ravenette scoffed but her eyes softened a bit as she stare at the fruit in her hand. "What about you?"

"What about me? Heh, this strong abs can take more than just hunger"

Blake rolled her eyes and repositioned herself to her stomach all the while munching her apple.

"Hey don't be mad I was just joking! I've eaten one on my way if that makes you feel better" He said plainly, mirroring her position beside her.

"Ugh, you're unbelievable" She punched his shoulder lightly. But what Sun said did make her feel better. She doesn't want someone to suffer just because of her anymore.

The boy grinned in return. "So anything interesting while I was gone?"

"Not really. A few workers here and there and occasional security check ups. Though now it seems they started to dwindle"

"Then the real show is about to begin"

"How could you be so sure they're going to be here? There are a lot of other places they can be at"

"Well duh the SDC, remember? this is the biggest shipment they do. Haven't you seen the news?"

"I haven't. But I remember someone who mentioned it to me once..." Weiss said something about SDC shipment a few days ago but she supposed she just turned her out like usual thinking the heiress speech as nothing but her Schnee pride surfacing.

Blake felt bad now. It's never been Weiss's fault since the beginning. She was right to assume she was a victim of White Fang. Blake never thought being the heiress of SDC would put that kind of burden on one's shoulders, but what Weiss said yesterday about the mistreatment she had to endure made her feel sick. All Blake wants is to right things between Human and Faunus and Weiss wants to correct things in her family grand name, to return it to its former glory when her grandfather still control it.

Weiss cold attitude represent her soul, it's a part of her Semblance. Just like Ruby's roses her's also heredity from her ancestors. In a strange way sometime Blake could sense warm under her layer of ice and to sense it all people have to do is endure the cold first. Part of basic knowledge was to keep yourself warm you just need to keep the heat inside, and with the heiress it's clear she too has this warm.

It's not like Yang's prominent wave of fire, or Ruby's sweet scent of roses. Weiss's is more like her's actually, only shown when absolutely necessary and can only be experienced by closest people around her. Just like her shadow, Weiss's cold only sheltered some people she thought important and deserving enough to enter her warmer side all the while keeping those not in a blizzard outside of her protective doom. Theirs' are more subtle than the sisters and a part of Blake believe it's because both of them have seen not all people are worthy to experience that fragile yet strongest part of their souls.

A tap on her shoulder and Blake blinked her thought away. She gave Sun a questioning look but he just nodded his head forward. "They're here"

As if on cue to his statement, a Bullhead soared through the air and landed behind a blue container with a giant snowflake symbols painted on its sides. Blake's eyes narrowed when its ramp started to lowering and a group of men wearing familiar Grimm masks and white uniforms disembarked, each carrying standard assault rifles in their hands. Her gaze however snapped to the last person who followed the herd and her eyes widen when they finally registered who it was.

"Torchwick" She spat the name venomously. What the hell a criminal like him doing _with_ the White Fang? Did Adam bit him the deal? If so then he just stepped on a land mine and brought the organization with him!

"Who?" Sun asked confused. He's not familiar with the name but he swore he had heard it somewhere before.

"Roman Torchwick. He was a criminal charged for Dust robberies, damaging public property and countless other crimes here in Vale"

"Ah... That explained his flashy outfit"

"Something is not right, Sun. The White Fang won't just take orders from human especially one like him" She stated worriedly. Blake saw Torchwick pointed at one of the containers with his cane and shouted to the Faunus responsible for opening it harshly. Something is definitely off and she wants to find out what.

Blake stood up, brandishing Gambol Shroud in one hand. She's glad she had sharpened it the day before and even though she _re__ally_ didn't want to use it she know it was necessary sooner or later. The weapon has its share of blood both Grimm and Human alike but looking at Torchwick she know at least this time the human blood she about to spill is for the better.

"Cover me, I'm going after Torchwick"

"Wait-what?! there has gotta be a plan! We can't just rush forward else we want them to nail us!"

"This _is _the plan. I'll take care of Torchwick and you the White Fang"

Sun was about to protest but Blake already disappeared in a flash of black. She quietly crept up along the darkness under the cover of containers and building until finally when Blake thinks she's close enough to Torchwick she jump forward and grab the man from behind, Gambol Shroud's sharp edge pressed against his throat menacingly.

"What the fu-"

"Nobody move or I'll kill this man" All White Fang members got their weapons pointed toward her and Blake grimace slightly, she couldn't believe it she had fought with these people side by side not months prior.

Torchwick groaned in annoyance "Oh for God's sake..."

Blake pressed the blade harder to his throat it made his Aura shimmer slightly under the stress. It would be easy to bypass it at this close, just a little burst of her own Aura to Gambol Shroud and it would cut through his neck like a hot knife cutting a butter. No resistance and it's gonna be a slow and painful death...

Blake's hands trembled slightly and she clenched them tightly to prevent herself from shaking. She fumbled with her bow all the while looking at the empty gaze of Grimm masks glaring at her. "Brother of White Fang, why would you take orders from this nuisance? he is nothing but a mere low key human criminal"

She held her bow in one hand, unfolding her extra pair of ears so the world can see them. She watched silently when some of the White Fang lowers their weapon slightly as if hesitated.

At least that was what she thought until one of them spoke out.

"You are nothing but another traitor to this organization, what an expelled like you could possibly understand? Not only betraying brother Adam but you also betrayed this brotherhood by siding with a Schnee"

Her heart skipped a beat at the statement. All this time they have people looking at her and her friends. What else they can do without her consent? For all Blake know they can kill Weiss when the heiress was alone or Ruby during her usual night absence to buy weapons magazines and Yang when she was out in the city. Sure Beacon offer them protection but who knows what would happen if they leave for a mission.

The thought of losing people she just came to care unsettled her, even Blake considers Weiss important at this point. Maybe it would be better for her to stay away from her teammates if that mean drawing the White Fang away from their life, beside this wasn't going to be the first time she ran away from her problem...

"Well, Kitty thanks for the compliment but really we are on tight schedule right now and couldn't afford another game of cat and mouse. Can we continue this later when I disposed of the other cat?"

Blake frowned.

_The other cat?_

"What other cat?" She hissed through gritted teeth. "Are the authorities finally catch up with you?"

"The authorities...?" Torchwick suddenly laugh loudly, startling Blake a bit. "Oh you don't seriously think those dumbasses can match my stride do you?" He wiped his moist eyes and the humor faded from his face. "No, what chasing me is better than some incompetent people with guns"

"Who-" Blake was cut off when a faint clicking sound resonated from Torchwick's side and her eyes widened in surprise seeing his cane already pointed backward toward her. Reflex kicking in, Blake jumped away leaving a mirage of herself to take the blow.

The world exploded in a shower of red infront of her, Blake was thrown mid-jump by the shockwave but she managed to land gracefully on both of her legs nonetheless. When the dust settled Torchwick stood unfazed with a cigar resting between his fingers looking at her expectantly.

"It's better talking when you face your interlocutor and not having a blade on your throat don't you think?" When Blake didn't answer Torchwick just smiled and twirl his cane in a show. "Well I'm done talking anyway, kill her"

The moment he finished gesturing toward her was the time the first shot was fired, and Blake was forced to weave through the intense stream of bullets until she found a cover behind one of the containers. She transformed Gambol Shroud to its pistol form and wildly returned the exchange with her own bullets, giving less attention to accuracy knowing full well she was risking a face full of lead if she dare even a glance.

_C'mon Sun, where are you._

As if to hear her mental call the loud sound of shotguns firing reached her sensitive ears before silence completely took over the place, not a single noise could be heard even the White Fang has stopped firing toward her.

"Hey c'mon it's clear!" Sun called out to her and Blake reluctantly left her spot. She saw Sun standing amidst the unsconscious White Fang members that were chasing her with his staff resting on his shoulder.

"Can't believe that actually worked" Blake admitted, reloading a fresh clip of magazine to her weapon. She kicked one of the White Fang members aside, seeing the bruise on each side of his neck where Sun must have hit him with his weapon.

"It's not over yet"

"Right'' She nodded, dashing forward to where he last saw Torchwick. He still has more men and what they neutralized were just a small portion of it.

The first White Fang they encountered next were quickly disposed of by Blake with a swift kick to his side, knocking the Faunus out cold. They continue their march for Torchwick all the while taking out every resistance the White Fang has in their way.

If the orange haired man was surprised to see them again he did a good job hiding it.

"How dependable..." He muttered sarcastically, facing both Blake and Sun. "Well, it seems I mistook you as just another Faunus, Kitty"

"Hey! drop it will ya jerk!" Sun yelled, matching the man with a glare.

"Sun, calm down" Blake soothed, she has gotten herself used with the title anyway even long before Torchwick. "Surrender now and nobody has to get hurt, Torchwick"

"Oh? me? surrender? I see you mistook me for another criminal! I, Roman Torchwick, would never surrender even if I was outnumbered!" He held his hands even as if in a show, one holding his cane while the other twirled his bowler hat. Blake look at him incredulously but when his smile turn lopsided she suddenly became alarmed. "At least I will give you the satisfaction of that idea"

He snapped his fingers and immediately the containers surrounding them creaked open and more White Fang members pouring out to the area from them. Not only that as if summoned by the mere sound of his fingers clicking together three more Bullheads appears out of nowhere and have their search light zeroed in at them.

Blake stared in horror as a group of them grab Sun by his limbs, holding him in place together despite his struggle and relentless yell for them to release him. Any further concern was washed away when she felt a strong arm wrapped itself around her throat tightly almost blocking her wind pipe. She tharshed around to free herself and was about to use her Semblance when suddenly something hard and cold was pressed under her chin.

"Don't ever think, Kitty" Roman growled, his finger caressing the trigger of his cane as he poised it at Blake's upper throat.

The Faunus holding her was a giant of man, easily 7 feet in height with muscular build. He seems rather unbothered by the way Torchwick held his cane at Blake with him easily in the blast radius if the thief decide to fire. That leave to options: either this guy is really that good or he just plain stupid. But the way he held her with one hand while the other _crushed_ her grip on Gambol Shroud Blake leant on the former.

"Let him go, he has nothing to do with this" Blake hissed through clenched jaw, gesturing toward Sun who still struggling seemingly not understanding the futility of his action.

"Neither have you actually"

"What do you mean?!''

"Well you see, this whole ordeal was meant to ambush a certain someone but now you are with us I could make due" He leant forward toward one of Blake's human ears and whispers "She has sent us too much messages but now it's time to show our message back to her"

Blake's eyes widened in horror as realization of what Torchwick meant finally settled on.

"No! no don't kill him!" She yelled desparately, looking at Sun who met her tearful gaze with with wide eyes. "Just... Kill me instead and let him go... He has nothing to do with this"

"Blake! What are you thinking! We can beat these guys!"

"No Sun, just shut up. I should have never associated myself with you. This all is my problem not yours" And now she dragged another innocence down the hell hole that was her life.

"Aw that was touching and beautiful" Torchwick cut in with a fake sobs, holding the place where his heart is. "Listen to your friend, _Blake._ You can take down evil if you just work together!" He scoffed indignantly. "Sometime you kids read too much fairy tales it's gotten in your head. I mean take Red as example, I bet she won't even have it to kill a fly _if_ she become a Huntress"

"She _will _become a Huntress! Don't you dare mock my friends infront of me you bastard!"

"Heh, such fierceness. Seems you care about your friends so much" A wicked grin blossomed on his face and in a flash he has his cane pointed toward Sun.

"No!"

"Yes! Now watch as your friend goes boom!

All the White Fang holding Sun suddenly jumped away when a giant red ball of fire Dust sailed toward the monkey Faunus. Blake closed her eyes tightly and tilted her face away when the explosion occured, keeping her extra pair of ears flat against her skull in a futile attempt to block out the scream that supposedly to follow later.

Supposedly.

Instead a familiar scent fills the air and Blake's eyes shot open in surprise. She looked around the area but all she can see was nothing but red rose petals floating about, at first relief washed over her thinking Ruby has arrived with the rest of her team but it quickly turned to confusion when there was no familiar sound of Crescent Rose firing or any sound of battle.

However a rather chilling air blew along the crimson petals, freezing all White Fang members on their spot. Even the big Faunus holding her trembled due to the cold energy which only grew worse when a growling voice broke the silence.

"I warned you to keep the kids away and you didn't, I told you to quit and you didn't. What else should I tell you all to?"

**_~Earlier_****_~_**

A pair of Silver Eyes stared silently from the shadow as the situation unfold.

Ruby knew something was off when Torchwick decided to show up after everything she had done. Earlier before they conducted their operation she has left them a message to stop doing what they are doing and she will spare them all but apparently Roman used her message to set up an ambush for her.

She gritted her teeth when one of his men grabbed Mini-Blake from behind and hold her by her throat. She could have rushed forward and do quick job to all of them but she wants to see how this will resolve. In the original timeline the White Fang raid this port a few hours ago but it seems in a few hours her younger self would have wandered somewhere else because until now she hasn't arrived yet along with Penny.

A hint of unease settled in her stomach. She has affected things so much they changed than what was originally happened. What else could possibly different? has Salem caught a sniff of this occurance? she can't afford the witch sending all out attack to Vale just to get rid of her no. The loss will be enormous more than what should have happened if she does.

Cleaver Rose clenched tight on its dormant form Ruby continues to watch while occasionally glancing around the area to spot her younger self. It's 9 in the night so probably she has gone back to Beacon along with Yang and Weiss and God know where Penny was taken to. The outcome of this seemingly little difference can be catastrophic, what could happen to Blake and Sun now she wasn't coming to her rescue?

The answer came in immediately when Torchwick raised his cane and fires toward Sun. Ruby quickly jumped to her feet and tapped her Semblance active, cold fury burning inside her chest as she dropped in the path of the projectile and extended her weapon along with its special feature to absorb the incoming energy.

Ruby sees red, not just from the explosion but also the anger she felt. Despite it she keep her voice dangerously low when she speaks. "I warned you to keep the kids away and you didn't, I told you to quit and you didn't. What else should I tell you all to?"

The Faunus around her shift their legs in discomfort under her death glare but when the Bullheads' spotlight settled on her they fixed their stance and match her fierce gaze. Looks like their morale is still good along their numbers.

_Good_.

"Ah welcome! We've been expecting you as you can see and just now about to dispose these uninvinted audiences. Can you please wait a bit more before we start?"

"Stop all of this at once and I will let you all go away with broken bones" She growled in response to Torchwick. Ruby doesn't know much about the man like she knew Salem's other puppets but that demeanor of his always get under her nerve.

He just another criminal, not someone with background of revenge and world domination or a dementia induced murderer. For all Ruby know he did all of his action out of money, putting his allegiance over the higher bidder. It's all a part of job for him and she supposed if the world's criminals were like him things would be simpler.

"Stop? but with all of this effort are you gonna let it wasted? I even brought Neo"

She followed the way his cane pointed and sure enough she can see the aforementioned girl sitting cross legged above one of the containers. Her silver gaze met mismatched ones in a narrowed slits when Neo gave her a wave of greeting.

"You really want to do this, huh?"

"Well, you kicked us pretty bad last time and I can't just let you go away with it'' He flicked his cigar and points it toward Blake. "Kitty here will be the reason for you to surrender"

"What?" Hearing Blake's voice upclose bring back old memory with the cat Faunus. Ruby has to force her face to remain neutral so not to give away anything.

With a sweep Torchwick has his cane back under Blake's chin, a hint of smirk appearing on his face. "Drop your weapon or she'll lose that pretty head of her's"

"Blake!" Sun appeared on her side, staff resting on one of his shoulders. "Let her go you freak!"

Ruby grabbed the boy before he could do something reckless and cause them both getting killed. "Slow it. You wanna help? stay away and get help on the way, call Beacon and say a member of team RWBY is in trouble and tell them to have the team coming ASAP"

Out of the corner of her eyes Ruby saw Blake's extra pair of ears flattened at the mention of RWBY. The Crimson Huntress can't help but frowned mentally at the sight but whatever assumption she has have to wait for later, right now she need to get help on the way and having Sun in the fray won't help either. He's good but this is not a playing matter. "Go, Sun"

He looked at her with surprised face but the stern expression she gave him paused any thoughts he has. Wordlessly he retreats after giving Blake a nod of assurance leaving her alone with Ruby, Torchwick, Neo and a lot of terrorists to deal with.

_Well, no pressure_ _there_.

"Now, you wanna play it the hard way or the worst way?" Ruby demanded, fixing her stance and grip on Cleaver Rose as she pointed it toward the giant Faunus holding Blake. The man hesitated for a seconds but when he didn't let Blake go Ruby got her answer. "Very well then"

She shot forward, dashing and evading the relentless wave of bullets the White Fang sends her way with relative ease. The shots were nothing but frantic and disorganized fire and Ruby actually doesn't have too much of trouble dodging them. She came to abrupt stop behind Blake's captor and with a forceful of Semblance-infused punch she delivered to the man's spine he finally let her go.

Ruby wasted no time to grab Blake and hauled her away from the area, paying little attention to the withering Faunus on the ground. She found a rather nice spot behind the containers and dump a disorientated looking Blake there before speeding back at where her opponents are.

A wave of white greeted her on the way along with another stream of bullets but Ruby merely side-stepped and jumped to another container. Cleaver Rose held between two hands she plunged down directly on the middle of the groups, slashing and sweeping almost madly in the wave of body.

Her hand found purchase on one of the Faunus' throat and she slammed him hard to the concreted ground, still she has no time to think of her action before being forced to sweep the ground when another one almost stabbed her back. Grabbing the almost assailant by leg Ruby then twisted his ankle to incapacitated him, feeling grim satisfaction when she felt the bone snap and the scream of agony that follow.

The air shifted on her left and out of instinct she already has her Semblance carries her to the sky as a red fire ball sailed through where she was a moment ago. Torchwick has his cane raised toward her with a snarl of annoyance visible on his face.

"Stop moving!"

Despite herself Ruby rolled her eyes in disbelief.

_Yeah like that ever going to happen._

In a trail of rose petals she dives down to him, rolling her body with Cleaver Rose extended outward to get rid of the White Fang standing on her way. With a loud clank and spark of red both of their weapons met halfway to their target.

"I gave you choice to walk away from this. This is bigger than what you thought"

He sent a roundhouse kick to her but Ruby dodged it by ducking low and retaliated back with a swept to his leg and another powered punch which he blocked with his cane, the momentum carried him metres away however until he skidded to stop.

Ruby's scowl deepened when Neo jumped down beside Torchwick and held her umbrella loosely. The mute girl's smug smile was absent for once as she stare at the man on her side with a worry frown which seemingly went unnoticed by him.

"I might be a criminal but I live with a code and that is to never left a job unfinished. I've taken this one and I will finish it"

"Look around you, Torchwick. Everything you've got is no more" She gestured toward the White Fang littering the ground. "The police is coming and with them are Huntsmen"

"Tch, Huntsmen can continue playing their game of hero. They can do nothing to me"

"I beg your pardon?" Ruby said amusedly, twisting Cleaver Rose aggravatingly between her fingers.

"Okay maybe you are among some few but even I won't think so highly of myself when I'm about to die"

She stopped mid motion and stared down at her chest where three red dots were painted at the place where her heart is. Somehow she forget about the Bullheads hovering above. "Right, forgot about them"

_20mm Dust-enhanced bullet, capable to tear through 3 centimetres of steel and reportedly 5 in this close proximity. Probably High-Explosive or Armor Piercing._Ruby shrugged nonchalantly.

In another flash of red and rose petals she flew through the air toward one of the Bullheads. Stabbing its armored fuselages to stop her momentum, she then set the output for Crescent Rose special feature and _tears _the aircraft to half with the help of her Semblance.

She jumped from the downed Bullhead to the next one, this time instead atop it she decided to dangle on the front of its cockpit by holding one of the compartement there. She gave the Faunus piloting it a wave and a big mischievous smile before driving Cleaver Rose to the component responsible for controlling the aircraft.

The last one tried to fly away but Ruby just used the full force of her Semblance and Aura to punch a hole on its vertical stabilizer causing the aircraft to spin out of control and crashed at one of SDC containers, triggering a huge explosion that shook the place.

She landed graceful on top of a crane, scanning the area to find Torchwick and his little friend in crime. As expected the sneaky man used the opportunity to escape from the situation along with Neo.

Whatever, she'll let him be for now.

A squadron of Bullheads bearing VPD markers flew overhead, their spotlights sets on the unconscious White Fang members scattered all over the place. Some of them touchdown and a large quantity of fully geared policemen poured down to apprehend the White Fang while the other swept the dock for any stagglers.

Ruby's attention however stayed on a group of kids heading toward a shell-shocked Blake who continues to stared at the place she perched on and she smiled in return. With a slight wave of farewell she disappeared among the night, leaving nothing but a cloud of rose petals on her wake.

Unaware with a red eyed crow looking at her from atop a building.

**_TBC_**

**Long chapter, quick update. Every reader's dream lol.**

**Anyway, this is another 9k of words to you guys since I've been on a good mood lately and spent almost most of my time typing this. I hope it turns out as expected.**

**I could have put more detail in that last fight scene but it would be too long so I decided to give some little attention at some points. Tell me what you think about it.**

**So uh... I actually used Barret M82A1 as reference to Crescent Rose Sniper part, didn't know they _actually_ based it from Barret until yesterday lmao. That explained why I felt a bit of similiarity between those two.**

**Next chapter will be on future Ruby by the way, I know y'all miss her it's been a while since I wrote from her perspective and be prepare for surprises!**

**_Responses for reviews_**

**_raquil.lowenraven: _****Aw stop it you made me blush hahaha. Thanks for your compliment, mate!**

**_gothboy.wxlf: _Close but not quite *wink*. I always thought Ruby's reaction during the revelation is lacking and I decided to make it more... Plausible, if you would. It was literally her team which falling apart and she was like 'nah chill it's fine' the whole time like she didn't even care at all.**

**_merendinoemiliano:_ Yeah they need to give VPD more attention. During the breach and The Fall of Beacon we didn't even get a glimpse of them at all.**

**_eye of sparta__:_ That remains to be seen... In the next chapter. *Flee***

**_Guest: _No problem! glad to hear you enjoy my story.**

**_JackTheSpades:_ Future Ruby holding back for the sake of her younger self's innocence is also one of the reasons actually. I mentioned it a few times in previous chapters she wants to preserve her from the horror of war and death. Future Ruby killing people out of necessity not because she was a psycho lol, otherwise she would never get to join Atlas Military.** **She _killed _people alright if that was what you were asking. Also going to Beacon just to take Crescent Rose and her hood can cause complications despite her Semblance, one that can compromise her cover.**

**Oh yeah about Harbinger and Crescent Rose princips, I actually came with it by myself so it's not canon. Got it after rewatching Qrow's fight against Tyrian in Volume 4 and staring at Crescent Rose for half an hour in the middle of the night.**

**I always believe Blake and Weiss relationships during earlier days at Beacon were complicated, it's just a shame they don't put more attention to it really. I took it upon myself to remake that particular scene in the port and tuned it up a bit to match my story and that was the result. I'll reveal how they reconcile in later chapters but you gotta wait a bit more.** **In addition, I believe your curiousity has been sated in this chapter XD.**

**That concluded it, see you guys on the next chapter and as always please leave your reviews. I meant it when I said I love talking with you guys even if it's just some random thoughts we can exchange between each other.**

**Take it easy guys.**

**Cipher032 out**!


	9. Chapter 9: Mending the Past and Future

**_DISCLAIMER: RWBY BELONG TO ROOSTER TEETH AND ITS ORIGINAL CREATOR MONTY OUM (R.I.P)_**

**Please enjoy and review.**

**Chapter 9: Mending the Past and Future.**

The rays of sunlight penetrated the forest foliage and hitting her face prompting the sleep to slowly leave her body. Ruby stirred and stretched her stiff muscles, stiffening a yawn as she rubbed her eyes off any remaining of her slumber.

Silver Eyes blinking rapidly to absently take on her surrounding she let her gaze lingered on a crow perched infront of her crossed legs, staring at its red and unblinking eye for a long amount of time trying to attain the understanding why it looks at her like it was silently assessing her.

_Wait_.

She leant forward as far as she can with a belt fastened around her middle, looking eye to eye with the dark avian creature. Somehow she couldn't help but feel she had seen this crow before but couldn't make anything out through her still sluggish and hazy sleep influenced mind. When it cocked its head slightly as if amused by her action however realization struck her like a freaking dropship and she uttered a word best used to describe the mud she's on before she could stop herself.

"Oh shit"

All remnants of sleep suddenly washed out of her body in a wave of dread and panic, her first instinct told her to get on her feet but it didn't regard the fact she still has a belt holding her together with the tree trunk on her back.

The wind got knocked out of her lungs when the reinforced leathery band pulled her back to her sitting position and Ruby groaned in pain, weakly fumbling with the locking mechanism she unfastened the material around her body and intended to jump down when all of sudden a wave of daze hit her almost got her falling face first to the ground which only she managed to prevent in the last seconds.

She coughed and wheezed breathlessly but didn't wait to tap her Semblance actives and ran away from the area, keeping a close look toward her back and surrounding through the blurs.

Somehow, someway, Qrow found her.

Ozpin must have him sent to look out for her, that was the only logical explanation she has since there is no way her Uncle just randomly popped up and _stared_ at her sleeping form for God know how long. She shuddered at the thought of how creepy that sounded but she didn't stop her mad dash through the forest.

She has to get away from him. There are reasons why Ruby didn't get straight to Ozpin first time and those were because the Headmaster is rather difficult to cooperate with at this time. For all she know he might create a plan for himself if she reveal what woud happen in the future and never inform her about it. She hated him for that actually, even after all the time she spent knowing the man he still held more secrets than what a human could possibly has. Not yet to mention Ozpin is a dumbass for having an obsession to go all defensive in their subtle war.

Her Uncle was also an idiot for blindly believing the Headmaster, right now she doesn't want to be associated with any of them at least yet. The Qrow and Ozpin in her time were a far cry of their former selves, Qrow didn't just take what Ozpin said after what he had witnessed and experienced and the reincarnated professor had learned to trust people more.

Trust, one of the reasons this war dragged on longer than necessary and his apparent cowardice to face his problem and had other as stepping stones so he can escape it.

Oh she had _voiced _her distaste pretty loud to him alright. A good punch to the face and an apology to Oscar later and she considered it even for what he had done to people on Remnant. But Ruby knew it's not entirely his fault the war broke out, he didn't ask for any of it to happen. Still, doesn't take the fact some of it was his fault.

Her Uncle was-_is-_another lapdog to Ozpin in this another era. He's nothing but puppet for him, dedicating his life to serve him just like anyone else Ozpin deemed worthy in the past. If he and her mother just leave like Raven and Taiyang did maybe she will still be here on this planet with her and they could have have that family she always dreamt of. But they were Hunter and Huntress so it was their jobs to protect other even if it kills them which exactly what happened. Also exactly what happened to her too technically speaking.

Ruby grimaced as a rather dark humor passed by her head.

_I guess dying in the middle of nowhere ran in the family..._

Her feet tripped on tree roots and Ruby yelped in surprise as she lost her balance, the rapidly closing forest floor offered her little time to react other than to shut her eyes tight as she crashed face first to the dirt and skidded to stop some time later when her momentum died down. Her neck ached from the stress and her pride was bruised she felt like the only thing her Aura needs to heal was that.

Ruby didn't move from her position even when the dust finally settled, face still planted to the dirt silently cursing everything that came up to her mind including the chocochips they put on cookies no matter how delicious they are.

"You know, if I didn't know any better I would have thought you were Summer"

Of course he managed to catch up even with her super speed.

Ruby groaned, putting her hands behind her head to push it harder content to let the ground swallow her whole. It didn't succeeded, just her luck. "What do you want?"

"I could have asked you the same question" The serious tone her Uncle used got Ruby's attention diverted to it and she rolled to her back to look at the man. "What have you done, kiddo?"

All expressions fell off her face and she gazed at the Hunter with impassive look, watching and silently noting how Qrow stared back at her with a hint of trepidation and wariness from the tree he leant on. Ruby slowly got up to her feet, dusting herself all the while not breaking eye contact with her supposedly dead Uncle. "What I think is right. To give everyone a second chance they deserve"

He straightened up and nodded his head. "Mind filling me in?"

She didn't actually. She wants to give everyone second chance and that including her Uncle, who knows maybe he'll listen for once. "What about you stay here and build me a fireplace. I'll go hunt a breakfast and we can have that talk" When he just stands on his place and do nothing Ruby rolled her eyes in exasperation. "I'm not going to run, Qrow. We all know how pointless it was"

He narrowed his eyes, gingerly moving near a collapsed tree all the while looking at her. "Alright, if you haven't come back in twenty minutes I'll go search for you. You know it's easier when the petals still fresh to follow"

She waved her hand dismissively, she could trick him to follow false lead but saying it out loud won't do her any good. "Just get that fire ready when I'm back"

With that she turned on her heels and walked toward the forest, leaving her Uncle to stare at her retreating form with a frown on his face.

**_~Continue~_**

The crackling of wood burning on the fireplace was the only sound between them two. Above it two fishes laid roasted with tree branches supporting them as impromptu griller. Now when Ruby said she was about to hunt she didn't mean fishing but after looking the area for any animals and couldn't find any she settled to take fishes instead. She didn't want her Uncle to start _hunting_ her down because she came back late for looking a deer or something.

Right, her Uncle.

Despite what she thought of him she actually missed the man pretty bad, and it took everything she has to not jump forward and hug him. It's been years since she had heard his voice and seen that familiar smirk of his, long time to forget especially in a time of war where her thought was focused to keep people alive not dwell on the dead. Looking at him however it was easier to hold her urge since his scrutinizing gaze was unnerving and annoying at the same time.

"Look, you can just ask you know? stop staring it creeps me out big time" Ruby declared, throwing the bones of the third fish she has eaten and pick another fresh one from the fire.

He blinked as if awaken from a daze. "You... Have grown up"

"Well duh, thanks for the information captain obvious. I am very aware of that whenever I look at myself" She throws the meatless fish and pick the last one, pausing to stare at it for a moment. "You sure you don't want it?"

"I'm good"

"If you say so"

It's not like he will be able to eat anything soon anyway without having his stomach hurl it out from the stress of this whole situation. He wasn't sure with who he would meet, but the information Edward provided him lead to one direction and that was another Rose. He was correct to assume the mysterious Huntress that managed to caught Ozpin's attention is related to Summer in a way, though he would never expected it that person is his beloved niece.

An adult and full fledged Huntress version of his precious Ruby.

At first he thought she was Summer but close inspection had him dismissed the idea later on. Summer didn't use a Katana and her hair had a darker shade of red, beside her Semblance was not speed which led him to one possibility of who else might have the Rose's family unique Semblance in a form of super speed and has a familiar look Summer had.

And that was his niece, the one and only living Rose out there.

Summer was his partner back on STRQ, thus they were pretty close in the past. Back then she was just a shy girl who seemingly content to hide under her white hood but as their bonds grew stronger she had come to open up more about herself to her teammates. One day during their team days off she revealed for the first time about her origin, a sacret territory none of them have ever stepped on before, and to say they were shocked would be an understatement.

Summer came from a rather well known family from Mistral, one that could rival even the Schnees because of their lineage. All of the members of her family were Hunters or Huntresses and she said it's kind of destiny for the Roses to be one, reasons were because of their unusual Semblance and the fact almost all of the members of her family were Silver Eyed Warriors. It's kind like a job for them actually as she said it but some of them actually saw it in a lot of various ways, some said it was a burden, some said it was a gift and some considered it as a responsibility. Either way they were so good in their jobs, best Huntsmen someone could ask for.

So good it attracted malevolent forces.

One night, that was all it took for her entire family to be wiped out. In one night the whole Roses were ripped from their root, in one night a Rose was left alone in this world to deal with herself.

The incident was one of the biggest incidents ever occured in Remnant. It was big enough to catch the other kingdoms' attention and had them assisting in finding out the culprit, even so they never figured out who was responsible to this day.

Vale was the kingdom that took Summer under their care, she was 4 year old when they retrieved her from Mistral. She barely understood what had actually happened but if she did she was too shocked to even care where people brought her to back then. All she said however she was thankful for the second chance Vale gave her and she swore she would protect everyone by becoming a Huntress, like how her family was.

As she got older she started to train herself and when she was adequate enough she finally enrolled at Beacon during her 16th birthday, the youngest girl to have ever joined the prestigious Academy and lead a team later on. Of course the title wasn't her's anymore but she won't mind knowing it was her daughter who took it from her.

Actually she probably would.

Qrow never said it to Ruby but Summer never wanted her daughter to be a Huntress and follows her family footsteps, his partner confessed it one night during one of their missions. It surprised everyone because of how selfish it sounded and Summer Rose was a woman who woud put other before herself no matter who they are.

Turned out that including her was hypothetical child.

_"I would be the Huntress that kept her safe and everyone around her so she won't need to be one"_

_"Geez you're so sure it would be a girl, huh?"_

_"Call it motherly intuition, Qrow"_

_"You're 22, Sum."_

_"Oh shut it you birdbrain!"_

The look of embarassment Summer had worth the slap he receieved on the back of his head. That girl packed some punch and he was grateful she was too distracted by her sudden rush of blood to channel more power at her attack.

He sighed deeply, fishing his flask and took a long gulp from its content. His gaze returned to the Huntress sitting near the fireplace he built munching a mouthful of fish. Looks like that destiny of Roses also befell her daughter eventually.

Of course people forgot about the incident that cause the Roses' demise, in the end the world just move on from the grief they didn't even feel. Ignorance is a bliss and the less they know the better, that was why they never said anything to Ruby about her mother's origin. One of the deals they made the day she was borned was to never reveal anything to Ruby.

"How did you get here? For all I know people don't just gained ages and skills in one night. Not yet to mention I saw you in the dock last night, the small you that's it"

Ruby's expression hardened as she disposed the remaining of her meal, so blunt like how she remembered he was. "I bade a deal, got nothing else to lose so I did it"

"What kind of deal? And to whom?"

"I met my mom, Qrow"

His heart skipped a beat at the simple statement and before he could stop himself his mouth already moves on its own. "Summer..."

She smiled, absently playing with the charcoal burning on the fire. "All it took to meet her was dying, worth the pain I had to endure actually even for just a few minutes"

"Wait, you were dying?" He stared at her in disbelief to her nonchalant shrug. "You're something else don't you know that?"

"So I've told..."

"What exactly happened?"

"What else do you think happened?" The flames reflected in her eyes, dancing and burning on the remaining woods to crisp. She grimaced slightly when a rather big crackle exploded, sending a hot wave of air to her face. "War broke out, everything was screwed and my friends all dead until I was the only one left" Ruby shifted her gaze to meet her Uncle's surprised one. "Just like my mother, I lost everything"

She stood up and sat on a collapsed tree rounding their small area, eyes grew distant in thought. "You were among them, you know? during an assignment with Dad you were ambushed on your way back from Vacuo. One of the worst days in my life since Mom's death"

"One?"

"Yeah... A few months from now somewhere during Vytal Festival was the first time I lost a friend, I watched her died right infront of me, then another one on the same night. You would have thought with Atlas grand military securing and reinforcing Vale there won't be a chance Grimm breached to the city but that was exactly what happened"

"I wouldn't actually. With Ironwood around he can't do something as trivial"

Ruby let out a hollow cynical laugh. "Funny, because at the end Atlas was the only kingdom standing on Remnant" She retrieved her unit badges and tossed it to Qrow, gesturing to her Battle Dress. "Where do you think I got this from?"

He eyed her outfit for a second as if realizing how peculiar it seems for the first time before setting his contemplating eyes to the piece of fabric on his hand. It's a simple drawing of a red rose printed below what appears to be a shield with lightning symbol on its front and green as the background. "RNJR? I thought your team was RWBY" He said, turning the emblem to face her.

"And I thought I said I lost everything" She replied bitterly, playing with the hem of her dress. "Yang was the first, ironically my sister was the one to die early. Then there was Blake then last Weiss. I'd given up back then, waiting for the demise to claim me thinking my turn will come eventually. But it never came, even after I was inserted to my new team it hadn't come until I defeat Salem. So yeah, I was dead and returned to this place with a task to fix everything for better tomorrow''

"How long?" How long had his niece suffer? How long had she has such burden on her shoulders? One that had to be dealed alone nonetheless.

"Five years" She confessed tiredly with a weary sigh. "Five hellish years nobody should ever experience. I watched man getting butchered, children being slaughtered and the skies turning black from the sheer amount of smoke rising from a burned city. I've seen the deceit a desperate someone could create firsthand and it's not pretty''

"Why didn't you search for help? With this kind of information we can do much more than just assuming where our enemy will be'' There's a hint of accusation in his voice and Ruby squirmed slightly in discomfort hearing it from her Uncle.

"I wanted to set things right by myself, alright?! Ozpin is kind of difficult to deal with and I don't want to involve anyone else!"

Qrow groaned and rubbed his face. "After all those years you are still the same selfless stupid kid-"

"Hey!"

"-who thought of fixing your problems by yourself. It's fine to search for help, you know? And believe it or not eventually this conversation will happen wether you planned it or not" He suddenly jumped to his feet, extinguishing the remaining fire by kicking it and grabbed Ruby's hand. "Now let's head to Beacon, I'm sure Ozpin will help about this problem''

"But-!"

"No buts! You should have known better than to keep this matter a secret"

"Uncle Qrow" She whined, dragging her feet but didn't show any other resistance as her Uncle carried her to meet Ozpin. She pouted and chided herself mentally.

_So much for being defiant._

**_~Continue~_**

"What happened to your Scythe?"

They've arrived at Beacon and currently strolling on its courtyard to Ozpin's office, Qrow wasn't joking when he said he'll bring her straight to the Headmaster no matter what even her _excuse_ to retrieve Crescent Rose on her old safehouse wasn't working, should have known better since she would never left her baby in some random places anyway.

Her Uncle continues to walk infront of her, hands in the pocket loosely and steps light as feathers unbothered by the stares they receieved from the students around them. Ruby however keeps her glance around nervously and silently praying she didn't ran to someone she knew, her fingers felt unusually cold from the sheer amount of anxiety running in her veins. "Guess. I woke up in Emerald Forest during my day of initiation to Beacon"

Qrow laughed but she didn't feel amused at all. It's been a month, one freaking month she spent without her beloved Scythe and hood, to say Ruby missed them both would be an understatement. "Rough hints but I got a pretty good idea, how?"

The images of her younger self crying infront of her, calling her mother flashed before Ruby's mind. She knew she missed her mother and yearned her as a kid but she didn't realize it was to that extent, maybe she would if what happened to this version of Ruby happened to her. "Routine maintenance, Grimm attacked, I disposed of them then Mini-me showed up, start crying and calling me mom. Not the best thing I've seen"

_Definitely not the worst either but that was just miserable._

He stopped in his track and shifted to face her, brows furrowed together in concern but before he could ask anything Ruby already dimissed him with a wave of her hand. "It's fine, I resolved it before things could escalate''

If running could be considered as resolving her problem then yeah, she resolved it.

"Kid, that was a serious matter. Do you ever think what would happen to your younger self now?"

"I know, no need to remind me. I've planned to stay low for the rest of my life after I finish all of this but it seems I have no other choice anymore"

"Then why bother to keep it low?"

"Because Ozpin is a pain in the ass!" She shrieked in frustration, grabbing a fistful of her red hair and pulled it. "That man is not trustworthy, and I advise you to start questioning him for once!" She paused, mulling a thought. "Actually that was what I'm going to let you do. I'll go and get my old teams gathered so I won't repeat this, beside you are right, they will find out about this eventually and I decided I would tell them the truth about my identity"

"Wait, what? What am I supposed to ask Ozpin?"

"His honesty. Ask him the origin of the story The Man With Two Souls and you will get your answer" She didn't let him respond before she jogged away from the area. "I'll meet you on Emerald Tower later on" She called out before she rounded a building and disappears behind it.

When Ruby was sure she's out of her Uncle's sight she let her facade crumbled as she crashed her back to the very same building and slid down to her bottom with a mixture look between happiness, sorrow and resignation on her face. She was confused wether she should cry or laugh so she settled to in a broken sobs of joy and tears. Thankfully the place she was on seems devoid of any students, giving her privacy to pull herself together all the while enjoying her small moment of solitude.

Fingers absently fidgeting the rose necklace hanging from her neck, she began to contemplate what her Uncle said. As much as she hate to admit it he was right at one thing, sooner or later she'll encounter her younger self and explain everything. It was an imminent scenario really with how determined her former team searching for her, and only matter of time before something happen that force her to reveal herself to them.

Questions in dire situation, not a state she wants to be at and for the first time in her life Ruby hate her own tenacity.

She had seen her old teammates during one of their search in Vale and Ruby needed to use everything she had to suppress the urge to run forward and engulf them in a bear hug. She missed the disapproving gaze Weiss often shot her way, or Blake witty comebacks to the heiress, and Yang terrible sense of humor. But most of all she missed the way they would laugh together over the dumbest thing possible and call it a joke, one that always managed to put a smile on her face.

Ruby noticed she did that a lot lately, smiling genuinely whenever she thought of her sister and teammates. Usually it would only cause her pain but recently as her dulling mind recalled the memory of her old team sitting on a bench eating an ice cream-or in her younger self case smearing her face-she can't help but felt the very same smile blossomed on her face. It's been years since she experienced that amount of delight in her chest and she really _really _wanted that heart warming feeling to stay forever.

That's why she kept repeating to herself she has to make this sacrifice so the other Ruby can live happily, and for once she wants to make herself happy and content with her short life. In the end however she would dragged her down the very same mud she's on by revealing everything. Now all she can do is to make sure the biggest burdens would stay on her shoulders and her shoulders only rather to forcing an innocence girl to grow up faster than what was supposed.

Wiping her cheeks and eyes from any trails of tears Ruby then stood up and began to walk to Beacon dorm building all the while keeping her head on the swivel to her surrounding, there are a lot of places that brings back pleasant memories during her time as Beacon student but her favorite would be the library where she spent majority of her time with RWBY at. She made a mental note to visit it later, there was a book that was her favorite but she couldn't find it anywhere else other than Beacon and she wants to re-read it again.

_Yeah, another time._

The wall of the hallway leading to RWBY and JNPR's rooms was the same color she remembered, boring white all the way across. Fingers tracing the concreted wall Ruby stopped infront a familiar door and raised her fist to knock only to hesitate when a surge of uncertainty rushed to her stomach. These people would be different than what she knew, and they are just a bunch of teenagers with optimistic idealism in their head. They haven't witnessed the horror of the war but most importantly they are not Huntsmen and won't act like one, she would need to be more tolerating.

Reluctantly she pressed on, rapping her knuckle against the hard wood and silently bracing herself. There were light footsteps echoing from the other side of the door before it creaked open and a familiar face greeted her, one that caused her throat to tightened.

She made and act of clearing her throat to gather her will.

"Miss Nikos?"

Pyrrha looks extremely confused and puzzled, her face frozen in shock as she stared at the Huntress standing on JNPR's doorway. She looks exactly like another redhead she know living across from them and if she didn't know any better Pyrrha would have thought it was Ruby standing before her.

Well, she's not entirely wrong though.

"Yes? may I help you?" What is a Huntress doing looking for her?

"I require your presence on Headmaster Ozpin's office immediately along with the rest of your team, please notify Mr. Arc of this unforeseen request and have them ready while I inform Ms. Rose's team"

God that tasted odd on her tongue calling herself like that.

Pyrrha nodded and retreated back with a simple "Okay" as response, allowing Ruby to let the grimace she's been holding to surface.

"Okay, one more to go" She muttered to herself, turning on her heels and stood behind a more familiar doorway. With a deep inhale of oxygen Ruby raised her hand and reach to the white barrier ready to knock when suddenly it flung open and a bundle of red crashed to her instinctive embrace.

"Ow! I'm sorry I was-" Whatever the continuation of that sentence was never came because a surprised gasp cut it off. Despite her breathless state Ruby still managed to let out an annoyed exhale.

"Miss Rose, have your team ready you are required in Professor Ozpin's office ASAP''

The Crimson Reaper turned around and leave.

**_~Earlier~_**

The silence in their dorm room was a peaceful one.

Ruby stood infront of a mirror combing her red strands of hair, she just finished taking a shower and ready to conduct another search for that mysterious Huntress she met prior on Emerald Forest. They won't have classes for at least another hours and she wants to make the most of those little time.

Yang was laying on her bunk bed, earphones attached on each sides of her head emanating a muffled sound of song. The slow fall of her chest might trick people into thinking she was asleep but the way her foot jiggle along the beats gave away the idea.

Weiss and Blake however were deep working on one of the homeworks assigned to them, they've been hunching together on their study table for hours trying to help each other solving the problems with Weiss supplying the ravenette about the latest material they were taught yesterday during her absence.

"No, the gravity of Remnant is calculated as 10m/s. Which mean with Gravity Dust affecting the overall weight of an object it can either multiplying or decreasing the said weight based on the Dust is positioned. In this case with 2 kilograms of Gravity Dust planted below a 4 kilograms of object it will reduce the mass by half, by putting this equation here then the result will be 20 Newton"

"Okay I think I get it. It actually pretty basic but with Dusts involved it makes things a bit complicated. What about Fire Dust affecting the velocity of an object?"

"Well, as you know Fire Dust affects a lot of things but in this case the air humidity and thickness actually the main reason why it..."

Ruby smiled as the conversation between Weiss and Blake faded at the back of her mind. After the event of Blake revelation both her partner and friend have gotten closer than before, Weiss attitude was more conserved and Blake never look at the heiress with a distaste anymore on those amber gaze of her's. The only thing she cared about however was the fact her team has returned back to it normal basis and their bond is stronger than before.

She was so worried about Blake last night and Ruby actually glad her insomnia kept her awake or else she might miss the call that Blake was in trouble. Her mood was devastasted she didn't even touch the mysterious weapon at all and rather has it sealed for the time being, but now with everything alright she might continue working on it later.

The redhead literally shrieked in surprise when Ozpin told her and her team to prepare to bring Blake back and she didn't waste another second to kick Yang awake and shook Weiss frantically off her slumber and explained the situation in a garbled mess of briefing.

_"Okay sis, calm down I don't understand what you're saying" Yang tried to placate the panicking girl as she put on her combat attire, still half asleep from her rude awakening._

_"Blake, White Fang, Ports, Huntress in red!"_

_Weiss stopped mid-action putting her heels on. "What?"_

_"Professor Ozpin said Blake was in trouble, she got ambushed in the port by the White Fang and then a Huntress in red showed up to her aid" Ruby said as she tried to put her hood on around her shoulders, but amidst the adrenaline rushing in her veins she ended up tying her fingers instead._

_Seeing this Yang moved to help her younger sister, placing her hands on both Ruby's shoulders to ease the bouncing girls. "Calm down, geez" She muttered, fumbling with the knot around her sister's neck. "Where's your cross pins?"_

_"I uh... I dunno, I put them somewhere but I forgot! just lace it quick!"_

_"What do you mean Blake is in the port along the White Fang?" Weiss cut them off, approaching both sisters to look at Ruby._

_"Professor Ozpin said Blake was investigating the Fang with this someone who called himself Sun when they saw Torchwick and Blake suddenly just snapped and attacked them" She elaborated, leading her team out to the landing pads. When the three of them reach a clearing Ruby pulled out her Scroll and input a command to call her personal All-Time Tactical Multipurpose Rocket Storage to her position. "Weapons out, bring light amount of ammo only I doubt we'll face much resistance"_

_Both Weiss and Yang followed suits, calling their own fancy lockers and wait for it to crash landed nearby. Weiss took a handful of Dust Vials for Myrtenaster while retrieving the rapier itself and Yang choose to load Ember Celica full without bringing any spare. They checked their gear, weapons and lock their weapon storages before activating its tracking system so people know where to recover them later on, mandatory rule even though they're on Beacon's courtyard._

_Ruby collapsed Crescent Rose to its compact form and attached it on her back, beckoning her team to the Bullhead waiting on one of the landing pads with Beacon Academy emblem marked on its side._

_"Team name and motto" The pilot asked Ruby as they boarded the aircraft._

_"RWBY, motto is Audere Est Facere" She replied dutifully, the question is a part of security protocol in Beacon so no intruder can goes in and out._

_The pilot nodded as he confirmed the verification. "Okay, girls. Headmaster Ozpin has briefed me, you guys just strap in back there"_

_"Thanks!"_

_The rest of RWBY already settled on their seats, Ruby followed later and sat on the opposite of Weiss and Yang to stare absently at the dark ground below them as they flew to their destination._

_"What's the latest update of the situation?" Weiss asked from her position, shifting Myrtenaster on her hip so it didn't get in her way._

_"Last I heard the VPD is already on their way, maybe we will arrive at the same time as they are"_

_"Is that the reason why you told us to bring less supply?"_

_"No not exactly. Remember that Huntress on news? the one who raided the White Fang this last month? she was present on scene''_

_Yang pipes up from inspecting her weapons. "You mean the very same Huntress we've been looking for?"_

_"Yes! if we're lucky we might meet her there and have our questions finally answered"_

_"I don't know, Rubes. Don't get your hope too high alright"_

_Ruby sighed in understanding but otherwise still nodded back. What chance do they have after weeks of disappearance the Huntress would just stay this time?_

_The roar of another Bullheads flying next to them caught their attention, Ruby peered throught the open ramp of their transport and gawked at what she saw. The sky was filled with dropships and Bullheads each baring Vale military and police departement roundels, she even spotted an airship flying high above the clouds constantly having dropships launching from its hangar._

_"It's like a war happening" she said still awestruck to the scenery._

_Slowly they descended to the ground, coming to touch down near one of the opening. Wasting no more time to disembark the girls practically jumped out of the aircraft and took on their surrounding, looking for a familiar face they've been searching all day._

"_There!" Yang pointed out to a direction and both Weiss and Ruby followed her finger. In the middle of people rushing about stood Blake staring on a far away place with wide eyes, her posture was rigid in shock and as the team approaches they can't help but notice the extra pair of ears above her head._

_"Blake!" Yelled Ruby in happiness finally meeting her friend again, she crashed on the Faunus from behind and locked her in an embrace with Yang following close._

_At first the sudden action startled Blake out of her daze, she watched the figure standing atop the crane gave her a wave of good bye and disappeared in a flurry of rose petals before turning her attention to the girls engulfing her body in a hug. "Ruby? Yang? What are guys doing here?"_

_"What do you think?! We're here for you, idiot!" Yang exclaimed, tightening her arms around the cat Faunus. She was concerned for her partner's well being when she found out the White Fang was involved, which only grew worse when the name Torchwick was also mentioned._

_"Oh I'm so glad you're okay! You made me worried so much!" It took a moment for Blake to realize Ruby was crying on her back but when she did she felt her heart shattered hearing the girl's sobbed. The ravenette shifted her stance and returned both sisters' embrace with her own, burying her face to Ruby's deep shade of red hair and uttered the only thing she could gave them._

_"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry guys"_

_"Oh you better be"_

_Blake's cat ears flattened when a rather cold voice cut in the air and she released both Yang and Ruby from her arms. She face the last member of team RWBY while keeping her gaze away from those icy blue orbs dreading the accusing look they held.__"Weiss, I-"_

_"No" Weiss stalked toward Blake, keeping her posture straight and stopped infront of the bigger girl. "Do you have any idea what kind of trouble you've caused me?"_

_"Look, I'm-"_

_"Quiet, I'm not finish yet. For starter, I couldn't sleep last night, I lost my appetite and I overthought a lot of things recently I couldn't focus on studying" She forced their gaze to meet and Blake felt her stomach dropped seeing a hint of hurt on Weiss's eyes instead of the accusing she anticipated. Somehow it felt more terrible. "I hate you, you know that?"_

_Blake dropped her gaze and along with it was a droplet of tear, she couldn't believe Weiss said it but she knew she deserved it. "I'm sorry"_ _she choked on._

_Weiss scoffed and flicked her white strands of hair. "Just like how I hate it when **people** hides their true identity from me"_

_The Faunus blinked and looked up back at the girl infront of her. "What?"_

_For the first time in that day Weiss smile genuinely. "But thankfully, I'm a very forgiving person. Which is why I'll be more than willing to forget it and start over once again''. She extended her hand toward Blake, offering another smile to the other girl. "Hello, my name is Weiss **Schnee** and I'm the heiress of SDC"_

_Wiping the trails of tears off her cheeks, Blake looked at the hand before slowly grasping it with her own and smiled back in equally genuine manner. "Hi, I'm Blake Belladonna and I'm a **Faunus**"_

_"Nice to meet you, Blake. I wish for us to know each other"_

_"Likewise, Weiss"_

_Ruby jumped on her feet and raised her arms in joy. "Wohoooo Team RWBY iiiiisss baaaacckkk!"_

_Yang laughed and once again brought the team into embrace, this time along with Weiss. "Damn right we are!" She exclaimed and pulled her friends and sister tighter._

_"Yang! I can't breathe!"_

_"Let me go this instant you brute!"_

_"__Air please!"_

Fixing the cross pendants responsible for keeping her hood together around her shoulders Ruby checked on her appearance once again before letting out a hum of approval. She swept her hood dramatically and turned around to face her teammates, hands on the hips and grinning ear to ear. "Alright, gang! a fresh day and a fresh spirit of RWBY!"

"Yay, go team" Yang raised her arms in fake enthusiasm, dropping down from her bed and limped to the bathroom to change. The girl is a heavy sleeper and after last night's event she could really use some sleep, sometime she wonder did Ruby have a grudge against alarm clock or something because she always woke up before one could goes off dead in the morning.

"We're about to finish!" Weiss called out extending a finger in the air without breaking her concentration to their work.

"Alright I'll go get Crescent Rose, you guys wait here!" The compact form of Crescent Rose reduced the size of the High-Impact Sniper Scythe greatly but Weiss dictacted it to be stored in its place and by no means to enter their dorm room unless absolutely necessary-which translated to never-because of her fear Ruby will break something that wasn't supposed to be broken, also justified since last time she brought to theur dorm she almost cut the door in half and that including Weiss who happened to sit on their study table. One of the downs of having the arguably most lethal weapon in Remnant but Ruby won't complain really, her baby has saved her life countless time and will continue to no matter what.

She swung the door open and rushed outside excitedly, not paying any attention to where she was going. Usually their side of hallway was vacant of any visitor since neither JNPR or RWBY have many people visiting them other than a few students looking for the Mistralian Champion Pyrrha Nikos living across them but other than that none. So imagine her surprise when she crashed on someone directly standing on their doorway.

Ruby wasn't sure what she hitted with her face but it's _hurt,_ definitely somekind of metal.

"Ow! I'm sorry I was-" Her apologize was cut short when she realized who she crashed to and Ruby gasped in surprise. Before her standing the mysterious Huntress they've been looking for in the last few days, wincing in pain as she rubbed her middle. She continues to stare with wide eyes, taking the Huntress' appearance and burned it to her memory.

A pang of sadness blossomed in her chest when her Silver Eyes settled on the woman's face infront of her, among it was hope and confusion. Upclose she looks clearer like her mother and Ruby has to suppress herself to not breaking down again like the last time, easier said than done though.

Fortunately, or not, the woman decided to cut her train of thought before she could fall on another mental despair.

"Miss Rose, have your team ready you're required in Professor Ozpin's office ASAP"

Then she turned around and leave.

Ruby blinked, flabbergasted. The gears inside her head started to spin back to their original pace and slowly the situation finally registered by her mind. Without thinking she dashed forward and grabbed the older girl's hand, effectively halting her steps. "Wait, who are you? are we in trouble? is it because of your weapon? why do you look like my Mom? are we related? do you know her? if yes who was she to you?"

Ruby's frantic chain of questions caught Weiss and Blake's attention, the duo peered throught their doorway and have their hearts skipped a beat in shock at what they saw. There in the hallway stood two identical girls, the first is their leader who continues to ramble her mouth out while the second girl seems like about to passed out from headache judging by the way she rubbed her temples with her free hand.

"I know you both are getting closer but damn girls" Both girls jumped in surprise when Yang suddenly appeared behind them combing her damp hair. They shot the blonde a death glare before returning their focus to the persons outside their dorm room. Feeling rather suspicious with her friend and partner unusually reserved behavior Yang move forward and mirrored their action. "What is it so intere... sting" she trailed off, finally seeing what her friends saw.

Without warning, she pushed both Weiss and Blake outside and stormed to where her sister is standing, eyes flickering to red not even paying a slightest of attention to both Blake and Weiss's protest.

"Yang, wait!"

"Hey what are you doing?!"

She stopped and stood face to face with the mysterious woman, gritting her teeth in anger. "You!" She spat, moving to reach forward but restrained herself.

The said woman just look at her impassively before letting out a single syllable word as reply. "Me"

"You've got a lot to explain"

"So I'm aware" she paused as JNPR's door creaked open and four figures strode outside. Jaune who led the group stopped in his track when he noticed how crowdy the hallway is.

"Woah, what is going on?" He asked, shifting his gaze between worried looking Weiss and Blake to a confused Ruby and a very pissed off Yang before settling on the Huntress Pyrrha mentioned to them earlier.

"I will explain everything later but for now we have to go to Ozpin's office, double time"

Every Huntsmen and Huntresses-in-training present straightened their back at the order, Yang narrowed her eyes but otherwise complied. Regardless, this woman is a Huntress and what she said is an order to them. She spared a glance to her younger sister but all she got in return was a face devoid of any emotion.

"Yes, Mam" they chorused dutifully.

The Huntress nodded and motion the teams to follow her. "I'll lead the way"

And so they followed in silence, each lost in their own thoughts.

Ruby however kept her gaze down to the ground, hood drawn in an attempt to comfort herself and hide the grimace threatening to surfacing. She couldn't look at the woman infront if them without having a sudden urge to cry so she settled by keeping her periphery as minimum as possible from the world and thankfully her beloved hood is a perfect tool for it.

_She's not Mom... She is not._

For countless time in her life, Ruby felt the hope inside her chest died out.

**_~Continue~_**

The awkward atmosphere around them was palpable.

Ruby kept her head straight the whole time riding the elevator leading to Ozpin's office. Still, she can't help but to steal a glance here and there through the reflective metal contraption to her younger self and mini-friends. Most of them didn't notice it but she caught Yang's glare once and needed to avert her gaze from her sister's fierce one.

She let out a silent sigh, shoulders slumping down ever so slightly which she masked by pretending to shift her foot. Ruby didn't know it would be this hard and complicated to _just _gather her team and JNPR, if she did she would have refused to agree and fought harder on her resolve to keep things secret. But oh well too late for it now anyway.

With a _ding_ the double doors before her slid open, revealing an office she hadn't seen for years and the normal sight it has. As normal as it could be with her Uncle standing as if ready to murder someone, a stoic looking Glynda, a very upset Winter Schnee and a depressed Ozpin in it.

The older redhead smiled and skipped forward with fake happiness.

_Just like people said, another day at the office._

"Uncle Qrow?"

"Winter?"

Both Weiss and younger Ruby said in unison, equally surprised by the presence of their respective uncle and sister. The hooded girl's confused look immediately shifted to one of joy before she launched herself and clung on the man's arm while Weiss's response was a mere formal greeting.

Qrow stared at the shrieking girl hanging on his arm then to the woman in the middle of the room, thinking of how different their reactions were the first time meeting him.

"Do you miss me? do you miss me?!"

Qrow stared at his youngest niece with unreadable face, meeting a grinning face as return before he let his act dropped and smirked teasingly, ruffling the girl's red strand of hair with his free hand. "Nope" Out of the corners of his eyes he caught his niece's older self smiled briefly at the interaction. Briefly because as fast as it appeared it's gone and she was back to glaring at Ozpin.

"Hello, asshole"

The world fell silent at the simple yet atrocious greeting. All students freeze on their spots while the older occupants merely bristled in their places hearing such venomous tone. Ozpin however kept his face stoic under the elder Rose's glare.

"Hello to you too. I would have to admit I didn't expect the outcome would be this way. You have gone a lot of pain from what I have gathered and for that I'm sorry"

"Save the pleasantaries, I've had enough of your bull already"

"Uh, Professor? do you know her?" Yang cut in, raising her hand dumbly.

"That I do, Ms. Xiao Long" He got up to his feet, cane resting between his fingers in a grip as he began to pace back and forth. "And I believe all of us do"

Nora cocked her head in confusion and whispers to Ren on her side, which almost equal with her talking normally. "Now what was that supposed to mean?"

"This is truly an unexpected turn of event that neither of us would have anticipated, that I would never foresee. But even the most crazy tales have their origin, and now would you kind enough to tell yours, Ms. Rose?"

"Huh?" Ruby slowly let go of her Uncle's arm looking perplexed. What does she have to tell?

Turned out, the question wasn't directed to her. Well, not her _her._

"Only if you tell yours, _Ozma_" Before any of them could ask anything the Crimson Huntress already shifted her footing to look at the students amassed in the center of the room, Silver Eyes locking each of them dead in the eyes. "But I will elaborate. My name is Ruby Rose, a former leader of disbanded Team RWBY and current commander of Team RNJR. I'm a Huntress and currently serving in Atlesian Military as a Specialist under directive of Special Operation Command"

At last, her gaze settled on the shell-shocked little Rose standing on Qrow's side feeling her heart pounding loudly in her chest as she finished her statement.

"I'm 25 year old"

_That was it, n__o going back anymore._

**_TBC_**

**CLIFFHANGERRRR SUUUCCCKKK IIIITTTTTTT LMAO**

**Sorry for another late update, guys. I caught a cold recently and couldn't stand to look at my screen without feeling my eyes burning. But I'm fine now so don't worry, it's kind of normal here in Indonesia right now we're in transition time. Imagine a hot sunny day easily 32 degree Celcius when suddenly the sky turns dark and it's raining heavily! and it happened almost everyday** **last week.**

**But enough of weather report. There are more pressing matters to discuss about this chapter.**

**Okay so Team RWBY's motto... Audere Est Facere, is a Latin language which translated to 'To Dare is To Do'. It's a motto UNSC _Infinity_ has, a Supercarrier-class spaceship from Halo. I'm also a fan of that series even though I never play the game, but the lore is just so interesting I got hooked up almost instantly. Oh yeah speaking of which, do you guys realize the sound effect for Crescent Rose firing sounds like Shotgun from Halo? especially the first three games? First time I watched RWBY I couldn't help but feel it kinda familiar, turned out because I did hear it somewhere before and it was Halo 3.**

**I promise I'll make up for this cliffhanger in the next chapter. I actually planned it to be one but turned out it would be too much so I decide to divide it to two chapters instead. It's probably going to be the most awaited chapter in this story.**

**Also, regarding the Roses. You guys have ever thought Summer wasn't the only Silver Eyed Warrior in the family, right? because that would be strange. That trait doesn't just popped up randomly and it has to be heredity.**

**Responses for reviews**

**_rbvictor: _We'll see about that, but right now I'll focus on the future first. Thanks for the review mate.**

**_merendinoemiliano: _Well, I said Summer won't play a big role in this story but for your closure I'll say this; No, I disagree with the idea of Summer having Scythe as her weapon. If anything I think somekind of rifle will fit her better, and beside having two Scythe wielders in one team (STRQ) would be ridiculous. I content with the idea of Qrow as the only Scythe user and the one who inherited the skill to wield it to Ruby.**

**_eye of sparta: _****Well, we won't see that until maybe a few more chapters but we'll see. Sometime things changes.**

**_raquil.lowinraven:_ You know, not to gloat on myself but I always have people saying how good I am writing fighting scene especially hand-to-hand combat. And all of it thanks to all those time watching Metal Gear Solid hahaha. But seriously I'm not that good let alone the best, still thanks for the compliment.**

**_Guest (1st):_ Yep, this story has a lot of flaws and grammar is definitely one of them. I'll try my best but don't expect much because apparently my best still not good enough compared with the usual story in this site. I just prefer to write story in English because I suck writing one on my own language, tried that once and ended up deleting it because it seemed like something Google Translate would write.**

**_JackTheSpades: _DMenace is one of my inspiration to write this story honestly. Both _The Petals Scatters Now _and _Patchwork Prodigy_ are a definition of perfect character building. To have my story put on the same shelve as those two is the biggest compliment I'd never thought to recieve. I would never come close to DMenace bro.**

**With limited vocabulary I need to find a way to make people 'feels' my story, I'm not good in doing word play, and so I settled by deepening the characters throught their point of views. Have them feeling by giving a vision of what happened is one of the way.**

**I did say I'll stick as close to canon, but that doesn't mean it won't change past what we are currently on canon. For example Volume 7 showed a glimpse of where Ruby and gang will be, then I'll come to pick the pace based on that glimpse. Also by combining all the theory and known plot, I created my own path and predict how the show will go in the future. So basically the past is same until things went south (which is where I inserted my idea) and hence this story.**

**I'll reveal more about the side reasons why Ruby chose to not kill the White Fang in the future chapters. Psychological Warfare is not the only reason you know? And about the reason why future Ruby didn't want to get near Beacon already been revealed and no I didn't put that down the last minute. I already wrote half of the chapter when your review popped up and got me thinking "This dude got an ability to see the future or something" lol.**

**Thanks for the kudos, I'm grateful of it.**

**_Guest (2nd): _Thanks bro, I'm glad you like it.**

**That concluded this chapter, I'll see you guys next time and as always don't forget to review!**

**Take it easy guys.**

**Cipher032 out!**


	10. Chapter 10: Wrong Side of Heaven

**_DISCLAIMER: RWBY BELONG TO ROOSTER TEETH AND ITS ORIGINAL CREATOR MONTY OUM (R.I.P)_**

**WARNING:** **Contains triggering content, just for you to know some cuts runs deeper than what expected.**

**Please review and enjoy this chapter.**

**Chapter 10: Wrong Side of Heaven**

It should have been a normal Tuesday morning, it really should.

But of course since when the word 'normal' and 'RWBY' went well together anyway. For all Yang knows her team was cursed to having an extraordinary amount of odds revolving around them, they literally decapitated a giant flying monster capable to sweep a whole village clean off the map with single flap of its wings during their day of inititation. And that hasn't yet to mention all other crazy things they have gone through in just _one _month being together.

Of course she has no complaint to those. Yang Xiao-Long is a girl who would never back down from challenges and instead prefer to face them on the most brunt of form and dish it out in literal fireworks. But even she has gotten to admit today's events were unexpected, had she thought she would see her younger sister _older_ than her? not even in her wildest mind.

And now the Headmaster she thought as normal person finally finished with his explanation of who he truly is, she can't help but baffled by the revelation and before she could stop herself she already has her reaction flew out of her mouth.

"What the fuck"

Then the room erupted into chaos.

"What do you mean you're a reincarnation of this Ozma?"

"There were two Gods living in Remnant?!"

"The Maidens do exist in real life?!"

"You had a villain as your wife?!"

"Did magic really exist back at your time?!"

"How old are you actually?!"

Finally, the young Rose shrieked at the top of her lungs emphasized the end of their questions. "What happen to the real Professor Ozpin?!"

The silver haired Professor sat back on his chair, seizing the people sitting before him. At one point he had Glynda to bring them chairs knowing full well the upcoming conversation will last longer than expected with the students present. His brown eyes settled on the person positioned at the last row of the front seat, silently noting how she glared at her through her one visible eyes with arms crossed menacingly.

The elder Ms. Rose has been looking at him with disdain the last ten minutes he explained everything and occasionally he caught her hands twitching as if ready to strangle someone to death, he was fully aware that someone was probably him.

"I'm not just Ozma anymore, all the people I have reincarnated into has merged to one with me, their bodies, their minds and thoughts" He explained, putting a hand to his chest to highlighted his point. All other questions were pretty much rhetorical since he had enlightened them so he didn't feel the need to answer them.

"Like a damn parasite" Spat the Huntress in red. But before Ozpin could respond she already shifted her attention toward a certain dark haired girl. "Blake, would you kind enough to recite the last paragraph from The Man With Two Souls epilogue?"

The sudden request startled the cat Faunus and Blake squirmed uncomfortably under everyone's gazes. "Uh... A-At the dusk of time, all kind of rebuttals were in vain. One soul was contradicted and overwhelmed until nothing was left of the original inhabitant of the body, one thought was twisted and corrupted, absorbed to the invader's own and disappeared amongst the void of emptiness. And thus the story of The Man With Two Souls is concluded, take heed for it no happy ending in real life..." Her eyes widen in realization, the last part was a hint about the truthfulness of this story!

"That was exactly what happened, right Ozma?"

All eyes fell on the Headmaster and Ozpin dropped his gaze to his table.

"What the meaning of this?" Yang growled, fingers digging the arm rests of her chair in anger. Her eyes flickered between red and lilac as a steady stream of fire rolled down her blonde hair and arms. First there was this mysterious Huntress sitting on the far end who claimed to be her younger sister future version, she had has enough to hold her tongue from interrogating the woman like everyone else since her glare intimidated almost _everyone _but Ozpin was just a straight up ridiculous.

_Maidens? magic? twin Gods? What an absolute bullcrap!_

Seeing this, her hooded sister moved to catch her hand and out of instinct she deactivated her Semblance to not burn the smaller girl, she would never forgive herself if she pretty much injured her sister out of rage.

"Yang, calm down" Ruby placated, rubbing her thumb on her sister's to ease her up. "We don't want to trigger the fire alarm again, don't we?" She added lightly to further her attempt.

The brawler sighed and despite her furious thought she managed a small smile to her sister. "Yeah, we don't"

Ruby beamed and all remnant of anger left Yang's chest, she gripped the younger girl's hand tighter and forced her focus back to the Headmaster. "So this Salem, she was the one responsible for agitating the Grimm?"

Surpisingly the answer came from her sister older self. "She was the one who directs the Grimm on Remnant. Grimm cannot be controlled but with right push you can have them exactly where you want them" She paused, eyes downcast. "That's how the kingdoms got overwhelmed"

Silence reign the room as its occupants contemplate what the Huntress said. Ironically it was the in-training version of herself who seems affected the most. "You mean, they know when and where to attack?" She asked meekly, locking gaze with the Huntress.

"Yes. That's how Beacon fell"

"Beacon fell?" Ozpin cut in with no small amount of horrification. So Salem managed to breach his defense afterall. It's a good thing he has the Relic secured rather intricately then.

The Crimson Reaper nodded grimly, she retrieved her Scroll from one of her many pouches and tossed it to Ozpin who caught it effortlessly from the air, he stared at it for a moment with puzzled look. "I guess it's my turn to explain everything, but you still have a lot to cover, Oz" She gestured toward the Scroll in his hand. "Sync it with your holotable, open the archive and you all will get your answers"

He did just that, tapping and inputting the commands on the device until a hologram popped up from his table. He put the Scroll down and stood infront of the display, frowning when a symbol of key greeted his vision. "It's locked" He said once again trying the interface only to have a small window of notification showed up. "A voice verification is needed"

Not for the first time in that day all eyes settled on the Huntress. She kept her gaze down to the floor, staring with a look the veterans know so well as one thousand yard stare on her face. Reluctantly Qrow who sat beside her put his hand on the woman's shoulder and shook her lightly, awakening her from whatever daze she was on.

A daze that was revealed almost immediately.

"First loss was too many, second loss was destiny, third loss and I'm lonely..." Ruby trailed off softly, once again dropping her gaze to the ground not noticing the look of unease and concern people around her gave her.

A beep however drew their attention from the Huntress to Ozpin's desk, they watched with wide eyes as the display presented numerous files each labeled with more numbers of subfiles on it but what caught their attention the most was the first six files.

_Frontline News: 4 items_

_Weapon Blueprints: 30 items_

_Mission Reports: 126 items_

_Intelligence Updates: 580 items_

_Team Status(RWBY): 4 Items_

_Team Status(RNJR): 4 Items_

There are a lot more below but mostly they were just some insignificant files like pictures, music, videos and unsuprisingly comic collections. In any other circumstances they would make a joke about how such a stone-faced individual still read kid's books but as Ozpin began to navigate on the first file all kind of humor left them.

_The Kingdom of Vale_

_Population (estimation): 23 millions._

_Loss (estimation): 14 millions_

_Academy Status: Inactive_

_Cause of inactivity: Grimm attack during the event of Vytal Festival years prior, casualty includes 124 students and 365 Vale citizens who were presence during the attack and Beacon's Headmaster._

_Note: Although it is not mandatory but due to special circumstance the status of the Headmaster's well being might be changed._

_The Kingdom of Vacuo_

_Population (estimation): 17 millions_

_Loss (estimation): 9,4 millions._

_Academy Status: Inactive_

_Cause of Inactivity: Grimm attack during the first month of Second Great War, a team was sent to retrieve the Relic and was successful to recover it. Casualty includes 323 students and 2322 Vacuans and Shade's Headmaster._

_Note: Immediate humanitarian assistance required._

_The Kingdom of Mistral_

_Population (estimation): 30 millions_

_Loss (estimation): 15 millions_

_Academy Status: Active_

_Cause of Inactivity:~_

_Note: Despite the best efforts of local Huntsmen and Faunus during The Defense of Haven the Headmaster of Haven Academy was killed in action protecting the Relic and a new Headmaster was enacted as his replacement._

_The Kingdom of Atlas_

_Population (estimation): 10 millions_

_Loss: Unknown_

_Academy Status: Active_

_Cause of inactivity:~_

_Note: All recovered Relics must be secured on Atlas and any refugee must be accounted in nearby camp. Any available military forces and Huntsmen left of the three other kingdoms are to be stationed in Atlas until further notice._

Ruby pulled her hood and wrapped it around her body to comfort herself. Like her older counterpart she dropped her gaze down and stare blankly to her combat boots. So much loss it was unbearable just to think about it she felt a bile rising up her throat and a knot forming in her stomach. She swallowed hard and inhale deeply, pretending to fix her cloak while actually rubbing her belly to will the sickness away.

Even as Ozpin began to open the file containing weapon blueprints to distract everyone from the horrendous revelation she couldn't focus on anything other than the numbers of loss imprinted inside her memory. Ruby however managed to catch a glimpse of future Crescent Rose's blueprint which undoubtly is that Scythe she tinkered on lately but before she could look further the man already changed the display.

"These are very interesting weapon designs, Ms. Rose"

"Yeah, sometime when I need to distract myself I ended up creating a whole blueprint for no reason" She chuckled humorlessly, jittering in her seat.

"Does that happen a lot?" All eyes landed back to the youngest person in the room at that simple question, but both Rubys held their gazes together not caring the stares they receieved.

"Sometime..." The adult one drawled. "It's better to keep myself together when I have something to keep me" She gestured toward Ozpin who had ventured toward the first Team Status section.

The wizard tentatively open the file all the while keeping an eye to the Huntress. It comes as no surprise when the list of RWBY members popped up on the display, though _what_ he saw did surprise him.

"Now that's what I called strong and stunning" Yang said, grinning ear to ear at what she saw.

The first one was her, or specifically her older self. The Yang showed on the display had her _prostethic_ arm flexed in a show to the camera, her face was frozen in one of grin and wink which her friends have grown accustomed to in seeing the last month, her blonde strands of hair shone brightly behind her in addition to her brown leather jacket around her shoulders.

Under the picture her ID was written in white letters.

_Name:Yang Xiao-Long_

_Callsign: Gelb_

_Age: 2__3_

_Affiliation: RWBY, Beacon Academy._

_Status: KIA_

**_See additional attachment_**

The air got sucked out from the students' lungs as their gaze focused on the red pulsating letters of Yang's status. Her sister who sat on her side the whole time let out a small whisper of disbelief and horror.

"No... Yang, you-"

She didn't let her finish the statement before engulfing the smaller girl into an embrace. "I'm still here... I'm still here, Rubes"

The girl let out a pitiful sound of whimper and Yang felt her heart clenched, never in her life she would thought of all people it would be her who abandon them. She stroke the red locks that was Ruby's hair, letting her sister to cry on her shoulder as she continues to whisper soothing words.

Her lilac eyes settled on the woman far away, watching silently how she intentionally let her bangs to cover her face. Despite the distance she could still make out how the Huntress shuddered and trembled slightly on her chair, slowly wiping her moist eyes to not get any attention from the other occupants. But Yang saw it all clearly like a daylight and she can't help but tightened her hug on her sister.

_What have you gone throught, Rubes?_

Reluctantly both sisters seceded and unlike her older self Ruby didn't even try to mask her tears. She sniffled and rubbed her eyes on her long sleeve, unaware with the look of concern Yang and Weiss sent her way and the Huntress.

"I know I would rather not to know this but... How? and what happened to my arm?" The blonde brawler asked tentatively, raising the very same arm where her adult version had her prostethic to emphasize.

The Crimson Reaper stood up, walking toward the display. All traces of tears left her appearance as she set her eyes to it. "The White Fang" She stated simply, turning on her heels to look at the only Faunus present. "Or more specifically, Adam Taurus"

Blake looked in shocked, her bow folded down under the stress of her cat ears. "W-what?"

"Who?"

Silver Eyes darted back toward lilac ones, the time traveler crossed her arms and leant on the table. "During the attack of Beacon the White Fang released Grimm to the city and school, using the negative emotions that followed after an accident occured on one of the match they exploited the frenzy and panic state of citizens to their own advantage" And in a matter-of-fact tone she added "He was Blake's partner"

The aforementioned Faunus wrapped her arms around herself in search of comfort. It doesn't matter how far or fast she ran her dark past would always manage to catch up with her, it's better when she was the only one who suffered but now hearing it from someone who had seen the future that her bleak past not only hurt her friends but also innocences she felt sick to herself. Not just _other_ people but it's Yang, her friend and _partner_ she has come to trust and love like her own family.

A family she didn't know she needed.

"Oh. Well, that suck don't you guys think?"

Anger bubbled up in her chest at the blonde apparent carefree attitude to the revelation, before Blake could think of what she was doing she already stood on her feet and glare toward Yang through her tearful eyes, startling Weiss who sat between her and the brawler.

"How could you be okay with this?! the White Fang _killed _you and my former partner cut your arm!" She screamed, panting and heaving as tears ran down her cheeks. "I know I'm a hazard to you guys since the beginning and I should have never enrolled to Beacon or anywhere close to people" Blake added meekly barely above a whisper. Once again she wrapped her arms on her middle, not noticing the hand sailing to her way.

A loud slap resonated in the air and the rest of RWBY and JNPR stared in surprise as Yang seized Blake by her collar, burning crimson staring eye to eye with Blake's frightened amber ones. "Now you listen to me, you dumbass. I would never and I mean _never_ blame you for what about to happen and had already happened. You are _my_ partner, Blake, and you're as precious as my sister to me, all of you are" Yang declared, giving each of her friends a glare. "So pulled yourself out of the gutter and self-loathing because that's what I would do"

Her partner pushed her roughly and Blake staggered back on her feet, rubbing her sore cheek while mentally will her Aura to heal it. The ravenette continues to stare at Yang before a playful scowl appeared on her face. "Did you really have to slap me?"

Yang grinned and her eyes flashed back to their original color. "Well, a wise man once told me, if you couldn't get throught your obstacle then punch as hard as you can until you could. Just be grateful I altered it a bit or otherwise you'll be nothing but bloody pulp on the ground"

Qrow snickered silently, he knew who that 'wise man' is. Last he checked he's still teaching on Signal and not as wise as his daughter dubbed him. But he'll keep his mouth shut since the glare her adult niece gave him practically scream death if he even tried to ruin the moment.

Doesn't matter, it's way funnier in his head anyway.

"So the White Fang is still around, huh?" Yang queried as she and Blake settled back on their chairs, eyes set on the woman.

"Man that's unbelievable, even during the time of war?" For the first time since their outburst Jaune finally spoke up to represent what his teammates were thinking.

"Yes but actually no"

"Huh? but I thought you said it was the White Fang who responsible for..." Weiss trailed off deliberately, mildly gesturing to the blonde on her side with her hand.

"My death?"

"Yeah, that"

A smile blossomed on the Huntress' face. "Well, it's a bit complicated. You see, an unexpected things happened, short story sort Adam Taurus commited a coup to the White Fang by killing High Leader Khan-"

"He did what?!" Blake cried out in disbelief, eyes as wide as a dinning plate.

"-And succeded in taking over the Fang for short while. He planned an attack to Haven Academy-_which _also has a surprise by the way but I'll reveal more later-but failed thanks to the Belladonnas and the gathered Faunus from Menagerie. We fought for the Relic and managed to secured it, Adam was defeated and he ran away" She paused, closing her eyes to recall that one faithful encounter her sister and Blake had. "He followed us all the way to Argus and ambushed Blake until Yang came to her rescue and they killed him"

Blake looked away, it's not exactly comforting knowing she would have to kill Adam just to make him stop but she supposed his sins will finally catch up with him regardless, just like how her's would eventually.

"Afterward the Fang was left in shamble without proper leader and almost destroy itself thanks to various splinter groups rising in the rank. Thankfully all Faunus in Menagerie already had their choice of leader and soon they reformed the Fang back to its original way with Ghira Belladonna as Chief in-command"

"Dad..." Blake whispered, not so loud but definitely enough for Weiss to hear it. The white haired girl looked at her friend in surprise but didn't say anything.

"And later his one and only daughter took his place" Ruby finished with a smile, arms crossed infront of her chest.

"I-what?"

"You did it, Blake. You had created that bridge you always dreamt of creating between human and Faunus, one that was due thanks to the White Fang"

Her surprised look morphed to one of content hearing she had succeeded but quickly it was turned to confusion. "But why would they kill Yang?"

Both Rubys stiffened with the older barely managed to keep her stance in check. She clumsily shifted between her legs and look anywhere but her former teammates. "They uh... Had some splinter groups, remember? Wh-what about I show you instead"

They shared a glance when the woman turn around and worked on the hologram to input some commands. Her sudden unease caught them off guard even Winter who opted to stay silent and observed grimaced lightly from her position near a corner. They know something was wrong and sooner than later they're about to find out what.

"Just remember this happened in the past" The Crimson Huntress mumbled more to herself, fidgeting with her fingers when the display change.

It was a video file.

The students straightened up on their seats, even Qrow drop his once crossed legs and leant forward, all traces of charm left his feature when the first image start to play. He has half his mind to ask her adult niece what kind of surprise Haven held but apparently it's got to wait a bit longer.

_Night time passed by their sides as the shadows of tree line blurs amongst the darkness. Groan and pants could be heard as they stopped in a cave catching their short and ragged breath._

_A Beowolf howled in the distance and the shadowy figures froze in their place, even their breath has stopped from the mere distant sound. One figure drew their weapon out but a hand on their shoulder stop them mid-motion._

_"Yang, don't"_

"What is happening? I can't see anything it's too dark!" Yang exclaimed but as soon the words left her mouth the display suddenly lit up in a green light and a a sentence popped up on the middle.

_Night Vision Repaired_

_"Night vision has been restored"_

"Well that's bet-" Whatever Yang about to say died out in her throat when her brain registered what she saw. The figures were none other than her teammates adult selves, and the one who had a hand on her shoulder was _her_ with Blake as the owner of the said hand.

Their clothes were torn with black specks which unmistakenly were blood covering some of their body parts. Some cuts were visible with each still oozing fresh scarlet liquid especially the deeper ones.

_"Can you make out anything?" Yang asked to the Faunus on her side, pointing toward the treeline. "Do we lose them?"_

_"I can't hear and see anything but they could be there waiting for a perfect moment to ambush us"_

_"Shit, that's what I thought"_

_The camera shifted as Yang moved somewhere off its view, revealing a long haired girl hunched forward tending someone leaning on the cave wall._

"Hey, it's Weiss" Nora called out. "Who is that you're nursing?"

"How could I know?" Weiss shot back tensely, leaning on her chair in anticipation.

_"How is she, Weiss?"_

_Weiss turned around revealing unconscious Ruby with bloodied bandages rolled around her forehead, a look of concern visible on her face as she replies the blonde. "I don't know, Yang. She kept blacking out and unresponsive, I'm afraid her mind just shut down in addition to her malnourished and sorry state of physical"_

_Yang gritted her teeth and turned toward the camera. "How long until the extraction arrive?"_

_"Estimation time of arrival is 10 minutes"_

_"We don't have 10 minutes!" Blake hissed from her position on the entrance, crouching low while keeping her gaze outside. "They've found us!" she called out as shadows began to dance behind the trees._

_"Okay, calm down. What would Ruby do..." Yang whispered, holding her head in thought. "Status check-up, yeah that. Sounds off, guys"_

_"I ran out of Dust vials for Myrtenaster and my Aura is low" Weiss reported, not glancing away from their unconscious leader. She repositioned the girl's hood around her body to better cover her skin, biting her lips in distress when she noticed the bruises and cuts under Ruby's tattered clothes._

_"I only have one more magazine for Gambol Shroud" Another howl and Blake crouched lower. "It's not enough, Yang"_

_Yang cursed under her breath, shifting her attention once again to the camera. "What about you, Penny?"_

"Wait, Penny?"

"What's your strange friend doing with us?"

Ruby smacked her sister behind her head in response to her rude question. "Stop calling her weird or strange or anything, Yang!"

"Alright geez how mean of you"

Another smack.

"Speak for yourself!"

_"My Aura level is low and I don't have any offensive weapon with me anymore"_

_"Great so we're stuck between a rock and hard place"_

"Really, Yang?" Weiss asked in disbelief.

_"Really, Yang? at moment like this?"_

_"Hey it's not like we're going to die or something"_

_"I inclined to disagree" Blake chimed in absentmindedly_, _not tearing her gaze from the forest._

_"Right, you're not, none of you are"_

_Weiss froze and turned around to look at Yang, an expression of despair written on her feature. "What do you mean?"_

_Instead of answering the heiress, she set down to her knees in front of Ruby. A small smile of sadness visible on her face as she caressed her sister's cheek tenderly. "Blake is right, there is no way of stopping them from coming after us, not without Ruby"_

_"Yang, I was joking! there has to be a way, someway" Blake cut in finally came to conclusion at what the blonde was implying._

_"Well then you tell me, I'm all ears" When the Faunus didn't answer Yang sighed tiredly. "Exactly what I thought"_

_"No... This is not right. What I should tell Ruby?!"_

_"Tell her the truth and don't sugar-coated it, Weiss"_

_The heiress choked on her breath, shoulders trembling as she cried silently to her mouth. "After what she just went through you are the only one who supposed to be near her and give her support"_

_Yang smiled, pulling the smaller girl into a hug. "You're more than capable to give her that, Weiss. She's your partner and believe it or not she has come to consider you both as her own sisters"_

_"But-"_

_"Weiss, no matter what people said about you, you are not a cold-hearted Ice Queen. Your heart is just as warm as mine and anyone else, in fact I think it's warmer than mine. The proof you're even bother to scold and angry toward people shows that you are actually care to them and not the other way around, I'm glad Ruby has you as her partner"_

_Tears leaked down her face and Weiss nodded weakly on Yang's shoulder, she whimpered lightly when the blonde pulled away and ruffled her hair in way a mother would to her daughter, fighting an urge to just pulled the brawler in another embrace and not letting go when she turned away from her sobbing form._

_Metallic fingers slowly tracing her cheek, Ruby let out a sighed at the cold touch. Yang stared in sorrow to her sister's still frame as her hand dropped down to the red fabric around her shoulders. "I'll tell Mom of your story, Rubes. I'm sure she would love that part where you kicked Qrow's ass for spilling his flask on Crescent Rose" She moved forward and gave the girl a small peck to the lips, resting their foreheads together when she felt her tears finally giving down. "I'm sorry, sis. I'm really sorry..."_

Everyone on the room watched in silence sadness except Weiss and her partner who occasionally sobbed and wept, the youngest member of RWBY shrunk under her red hood and for countless time feeling grateful to its presence. Ruby slipped her hand on her sister's in search for comfort but instead an arm was put on her shoulders and a familiar warming Aura filled her body, prompting her to lean on the source that was none other than Yang herself.

_Yang got up, wiping the tears from her eyes and turned toward the camera. Her eyes were filled with sheer determination as she adressed Penny. "Promise me you'll make sure help is coming"_

_"I-I promise"_

_Yang noddded and pulled her into an embrace. "You're a good person, Penny. Thank you for being Ruby's friend"_

_"I-" She started but Yang already pushed herself away from her and seize her with a smile._

_"No, don't say anything more to me. Just be there when she needs you"_

_A nod._

_Yang turned her attention toward the last member of RWBY, her stance shifting a bit in uncertainty when her partner continues to back her. "Blake-"_

_"I'll stay with you" The ravenette cut her off fiercely, one hand gripping Gambol Shroud while the other around the handle of its sharpened scabbard._

_"Blake, no"_

_"Dammit, Yang! You're my partner and it's my responsibility to keep you alive even if it kills me!"_

_Yang grabbed the Faunus by arm and twisted her around to face her. "And that exactly what I'm doing, **partner**" She hissed directly on Blake's face. "You have a job to do and I've got mine"_

_"What is it more important than keeping my friend alive?!" Blake retorted hotly, not even caring if her shout alerted the Grimm outside anymore._

_"Keeping your **friends** alive that is" The blonde released her partner and gestured toward Penny. "Her night vision keep failing and it's possible she'll lost it at one point, and without it the team is as good as dead out there. But you have the same ability, Blake, one that cannot be rendered inactive and you would be the one guiding them"_

_Her partner about to protest but refrained seeing the crimson gaze settled on her, instead a viscious snarl of confusion and submission took her feature knowing full well the blonde was right. Yang heaved a sigh and like the other pulled Blake to an embrace._

_"I don't want it to end like this, Yang" Blake confessed finally succumbing to her sorrow as tears started to run down her cheeks._

_Yang tightened her embrace and whispered to her partner. "It doesn't. You still have a lot to do" She pulled away and grinned ear to ear, casting everyone presence a look of gratitude. "Take care of my sister, **sists**"_

_And with that she dashed forward to the darkness, arms both flesh and metal raised ready to fight knuckle to knuckle and teeth to teeth with the Grimms. In her wake steady blaze of fire started to build up, small at first like a candle in the darkness but it's rapidly grew to campfire until the whole forest lit up on fire._

_Weiss scooped Ruby off the ground and carried her between her arms, nudging a rigid Blake with her shoulder. "C'mon Blake we have to go"_

_Reluctantly the Faunus followed, giving one last glance to the forest as a battle cry died out in the distance._

_"What you want some too?!"_

The screen went blank and words replaced them.

_End of recording_

The display sputtered and it returned to its previous menu, showing Yang's ID with the blonde all too familiar face looking back at them. It's hard to look it the same way again after what they had just witnessed and none of the students could look at Yang without having their hearts clenched painfully in their chests.

"Yang didn't have to die" Adult Ruby suddenly said, her fists clenched on her sides tightly her knuckles turned white under the stress. "If only I was conscious we could have walk away without a scratch"

Pyrrha frowned to the words and the rest of JNPR along with RWBY mirrored her expression, she shifted on her seat beside Jaune and gave the woman a puzzled look. "What do you mean?" the Champion asked. Sure the young leader has gotten stronger over the years but there is no way she can take on an entire army of Grimm by herself, right?

_Right?_

Instead of adressing Pyrrha, the older redhead shifted her attention toward her younger self. "Tell me little Rose, what did Ozpin said to you-_us_-the first time you met him?"

The said little Rose blinked, her mind was occupied with a lot of questions and one of those was why her sister older self said Penny's night vision was failing? Is Penny a Faunus too like Blake? Almost all of Faunus has the ability to see in the dark afterall but then again there is no record of it failing, so why Penny's was?

"Ruby?''

"Ah! Sorry. What did you say?"

"What did Ozpin say to you first time you met him?" Her older self repeated, eyeing her. "Do you have something in mind?"

"Wha-I yes-I mean no, no not related. So um... He said something about Silver Eyes? I guess''

A nod. "Ozpin knew. He always knew what having Silver Eyes meant" She tucked her hair to the back of her ear, revealing both of her eyes. "These eyes holds more power against Grimm than the entire Atlas military combined"

"Uh... What?"

The Huntress paced back and forth, hands clasped behind her back as if lecturing a bunch of faulty students. "Silver Eyes, a descended traits from the God of Light Himself is a rare trait in the world. Those who inherited it was known by the name Silver Eyed Warrior, people who was destined to lead a life of warrior thus the title. It is considered as special power since it doesn't take any toll from its wielder and when done right could defeat the strongest of Grimm with single strike"

"Wait, do you mean my eyes can shoot a laser beam and killed Grimm instantly?! Just like in the video games?!"

The Huntress stopped and looked down at her amusedly "No, but your eyes can petrified a Grimm"

"Ah okay sounds cool too" She paused, face scrunched up to confusion. "Literally or figuratively?"

"Both"

"Oh"

Back in the future Ruby didn't need and rarely confront any Grimm at least a stagler amount of them. She had a reputation well known across the continents as Grimm slayer there was no Grimm daring enough to attack her individually. All major confrontations she had were usually happening during an operation in remote places deep on Grimm territory, but other than that it's usually just some ill-fated Grimm who accidentally stumbled upon her.

It's a popular belief that Grimm does learn, they have some degree of intelligence amongst them similiar with instinct. The fact that instinct is theoritically a muscle memory inherited from one's predecessor through DNA also precede to Grimm despite their entirely different and fairly unknown means of creation. Additionally, along with age their instinct also expands in accord to their experience thus any Grimm who confronts sentient being more often knows how and what to do when facing against an odd.

Grimms are basically animals. Animals that were tenfold more dangerous than _animal__s._ Unlike their soul-less counterparts, animals still bring pluses to the world in form of essence to the others living being. Grimms don't, the only things they bring are pure destruction and death, regardless how many resemblance they have with other animals they are not animals.

Their way of communicating was also a mistery. There are some theories which states they communicate through somekind of signal between themselves in a form of telepathic calling. It makes much sense considering even some Grimms which are deemed as young and supposedly dumb still has tendency to fight in a swift organized attack.

Nevertheless her reputation growth amongst them and that's what matter actually.

"What happened to you actually?" Blake chimed in. Her face was uncharacteristically blank as she stare at the woman who had returned to her seat beside Qrow. The image of Yang's older self blazing sacrifice still fresh in her mind and she afraid the memory won't be gone anytime soon.

The woman squirmed in visible discomfort at the question, refusing to look at anyone presence and instead setting her gaze to the hem of her Battle Dress slowly fidgeting with it. "I don't feel like to talk about it" She confessed softly.

"What did you knock yourself to a puddle or something?" Yang joked half-heartedly, giving a forced smile to the woman.

"I uh..."

"Oh c'mon no need to be embarassed, it's normal to slip on your feet and hit your head in the process"

She didn't answer, not at first and when everyone started to think she had chose to disregard the question she suddenly admitted softly. "I was captured"

The room went dead still and everyone froze in their place at the statement. Yang's smile was gone and on it's place a horrified look appeared. "What?"

"I was captured by what left of the former White Fang, they were nothing but some splinter group that operated independently under the goal to wipe mankind by taking advantages of the situation. We were on our way back from gathering intels near Haven about a sudden surge of Grimm activity when we were ambushed, I got separated and they succeeded to capture me. Afterward all I knew I was in this small cell barely enough to fit a mattress, chained to the wall"

"So that's what I meant with malnourished..." Weiss whisper in realization, such a strange phrase but her mind was too preoccupied to even care.

"They held me for a whole week, beating and torturing me for information almost in my every waking moment" She spaced out, remembering those gruesome of time in her life. Ruby can still make out the vivid details and sometime she would get a nightmare from those dreadful days, feeling ghostly sensation of blades cutting her once flawless skin and fists bruising her porcelein feature.

But they compares not to the worst thing they did to her later on, one that scarred her mentally and physically for the rest of her life.

"They violated me..."

_CRACK!_

The armrests of Yang's chair shattered under her grips, the blonde was absolutely livid she couldn't think straight. Such atrocity befell her sweet and innocent baby sister was unbelievable and mortifying to think of. Never ever Yang thought someone would have the heart to do it to Ruby nonetheless.

There are muffled sounds around her but she couldn't make out any of them, all Yang heard was her heart pounding loudly in her ears and the the crackling of her Semblance around her body. She relished the feeling of her anger burning around her as she sat stiffly on her slowly scorching chair.

"Yang!"

_"__Who?"_ She growled under her breath, tightening her fists if it even possible around the now barely recognizable chunks that were the armrests. Who was guilty for doing such disturbing act to her baby sister?

A hand grazed her shoulder before it redrew under her raging inferno. Yang didn't care about her surrounding anymore, all she wanted to do is to _murder_ the one responsible for scarring her sister and kill them slowly until they beg for mercy, something she doesn't think she would give until she feels satisfied enough in beating them to red carcasses of body.

A shake pulled her out of her sadistic thought and Yang looked at both of her shoulders, confusion blossomed in her chest as she noticed the mismatched hands placed on her burning skin, slowly charring the opposing appendages. She blinked hard when another pair of hands grab her's still clenched one only to met by a pair of Silver Eyes staring back at her.

Realization hit her like a brick and Yang deactivated her Semblance immediatley extinguishing her fiery flames of rage, double gasps could be heard as the hands withdrew from her shoulders.

"Oh my God" She doubled over on her feet, looking on her surrounding in horror. JNPR and the rest stood a few metres away from her charred ground sans her team and her sister future self who were standing as close as possible to her instead. Both Weiss and her Ruby cradled their burned hands while Blake kept her's on Yang's, looking at the blonde through her fierce amber eyes Yang couldn't help but be remembered to the Blake from the recording.

"It's not happening yet, Yang" Blake reminds her partner as she gestured toward her leader. "Ruby still here and safe"

_Away from conniving hands_

Yang nodded dejectedly, grabbing both Weiss and Ruby's hands instead in regret to her action. Both marred skins have started to heal thanks to Auras but Yang keeps her own flowing out to help fixing them. "Sorry" She apologized softly, caressing her sister's hand with her thumb before turning her attention to her poor-fated chair and scratched her head sheepishly. "I need new chair"

"Yang, you sure you want to continue?" The Crimson Reaper asked with concern, hovering behind Blake to better stare at the brawler.

"Yeah, I'm fine"

She nodded and her facade returned. "Very well. You can use mine, I better explain things while standing anyway"

Reluctantly all occupants settled back to their chairs while Qrow tossed the vacant seat toward Yang who intercepted it mid-air, she shot her Uncle a thanks before dispossing her old chair to the corner and settled on the new one. "So... Next is Blake, right?"

Blake's extra pair of ears flattened as the Huntress nodded in affirmation. "Is it also a video?" She queried gingerly, not liking the idea of watching herself die.

"Yes and no" She said simply, once again tinkering with the interface not noticing Glynda who silently talking with Ozpin.

Like Winter she was assigned to observe the situation, unlike Winter her order came from Ozpin himself. Her presence wasn't exactly needed but the Headmaster of Beacon insisted for her to stay and assess their unprecedented guest.

"She seems rather nonchalant for someone who had gone through such horrible experience" The female professor supplied in a whisper, giving the elder Rose a look of concern.

Ozpin hummed in response. "Food for later thoughts, but it's indeed alarming"

"Do you think she's that terribly damaged?"

"Perhaps, add it to the variables and we will see the result later. But for now let's see what would happen to my students in the future"

Glynda nodded, casting a glance toward the older Schnee presence. Winter has her arms crossed as their gazes met and in that instant Glynda realized that the Specialist has come to the same conclusion as her. She gave her a nod and returned her attention toward the woman infront of the crowd as she brought the display of the third member of team RWBY.

_Name: Blake Belladonna_

_Callsign: Schwarze_

_Age: 24_

_Affiliation: RWBY, Beacon Academy._

_Status: KIA_

**_See additional attachment_**

Like the previous ID, Blake's also has her picture attached to it. She had her hair cut short to her shoulders and she wore what appeared to be white SpecOps outift made of latex under black coat with purple lining on its collars each running down to her sleeves vertically. On her chest the strap she used to hold Gambol Shroud reached diagonally to one of her shoulders with the said weapon's hilt peeking from her back.

"Wow Blakey I didn't know you like to wear something so... Hugging" Yang commented dryly, sending a teasing look toward the flushed Faunus.

"That because I don't..."

"It's not just some tight outfit. Standard issue for Atlesian Military SpecOps Operators, less armors and more to stealth and agility. It's equipped with photo-realistic nano sensors to mimic the surrounding area, granting its user the ability to turn invisible" The Huntress in Red explained.

"With Blake already top notch stealth ability I think it's a perfect combination with her" Weiss agreed off-handedly.

"Yes. Blake, despite was a part of RWBY, often went on a solo missions especially ones that involved intel gathering and swift removal of certain threatening individuals deep in enemy territories"

"Removal of certain threatening individuals?" The younger Ruby asked, not liking how that sounded.

"Assasination'' Winter deduced, eyeing the ravenette warily. She had heard the tales of these people, those who lives in shadows and work silently under its cover. They were considered as best of the best and their missions usually conducted deep behind enemy lines with almost 100% of mortality rate but even so many of them managed to pull it out and prevail.

To think the girl sitting chairs away from her will join that special branch of SOCOM was unbelievable to think of but yet she did.

"Sort of" The time traveler said, opening the additional attachment like before. The hologram shifted and on its place a bulletin appeared with a big black headline as its title.

_The High Leader of White Fang Found Dead_

She scrolled down as another picture of Blake appeared standing over a mass of Faunus, mouth freeze open in eternal shout. Below it a sentence typed in Italic letters could be seen highlighting the picture_._

_Blake Belladonna giving a speech._

Ruby swipe down for more, slowly to let the other occupants to read it. She doesn't need to since she had read the report for countless time, she lost record somewhere among 250.

_The High Leader of White Fang, Blake Belladonna, is found dead this afternoon near a small city in the Kingdom of Mistral territory. Representive of Atlesian Military Public Speaker announced her death shortly afterward as Killed in Action, further information is expunged in fear of security breach and is withheld until later declassification._

_Blake Beladonna was known for her commendable action in uniting the White Fang after its former Chief-In-Command Ghira Belladonna stepped down. The previously radical organization was drawn back to its original intention as peaceful bridge between Faunus and Human, something Ms. Belladonna achieved with the help of current SDC CEO Weiss Schnee who was also her former teammate in team RWBY._

Blake smiled and glanced at Weiss sitting beside her, giving the white haired girl a look of appreciation. Weiss must have seen it because a smirk appeared on her face as she flicked her hair almost in arrogance manner, if Blake didn't know any better.

She didn't care she died, as long she had achieved her dreams she was content with it.

_The White Fang is now recognized as special branch in Atlas Military with main objective to combat opposing forces as shock troopers, supplied by the SDC itself with latest art-of-the-state equipments to boost succession rate of a mission it is considered as one of the best branches in the military._

Below it a video file was attached and the Huntress paused her scrolling to let it play

_Weiss stood on a podium, overlooking the mass of white consisted of human and Faunus each baring their own symbols of affiliation. Her eyes swept the area for a moment before she straightened herself._

_"Today marked the day of unification"_

Weiss shivered hearing her own voice, it was filled with tone that demand authority and obedience, one that didn't take anything less as answer.

_"Today marked the day of freedom" She added after a slight pause, leaning on the wooden furniture that was her podium by hands. "For years the Schnee Dust Company had put the Faunus in a misdeed, an action commited under the name of hatred and racism and top of all profit"_

Winter sighed and crossed her arms, staring at the scar marring her sister's faces both younger and older with a hint of sadness on her face. Weiss is not like her in a lot of way, her sister never ran from her responsibility as a Schnee to clear its name like she did. People always talks about how rich and famous the Schnees are but to Weiss all that matter is the honor the name upholds, something that was slowly losing.

_"I stand here today to condemn the act my family has done to any Faunus out there, present or not. I am understand a simple apology would not suffice to what you have endured but it's a small step I currently can offer" She averted her eyes away from the crowd, staring at somewhere under. Reluctantly she took a step back before bowing to the crowd. "I'm sorry for what the Schnee has forced upon you, I'm sorry for taking you and your family away, I'm sorry for all the unnecessary loss you have and I'm sorry for much more sins too many to say my family commited"_

Weiss's lips quievered hearing the distress in her older self's tone, she shifted slightly away from the Faunus on her side in shame but the said Faunus grabbed her shoulder and pulled her back.

"It's not your fault, Weiss" Blake said as soft as she could, giving the heiress a squeeze of comfort.

"I know what my father do is immoral, Blake, and I don't do anything to stop it. It makes me feel like I'm responsible for his actions"

Blake shook her head and gestured toward the screen as the Weiss from the recording straightened back to her original position. "A child doesn't responsible for the sins her parents commited. The fact that one over there happened meant you did something to stop the awful treatment your father do to us Faunus"

"But still..."

"Weiss, a change takes time. Don't beat yourself around the bush for doing the right thing" Yang chimed in flatly from her position.

The heiress nodded and returned her attention to the recording as future Blake joined her own.

_"Standing beside me is the High Leader of the White Fang, she has envisioned the moment when Human and Faunus accepted each other since long time ago and I'm proud to say she finally achieved that dream"_

The Blake on the display gave a polite smile to future Weiss but everyone in the room could detect a hint of amusement on her face as they grasped each other hands.

"I don't know about you but I would have had a stupid grin on my face if I was on Weiss's position" Yang said between laugh followed by her sister small exclamation.

"Same!"

Weiss rolled her eyes and scoffed at the sisters' antics. "We Schnees are taught to stay composed in all circumstances, I'm sure a regular like you won't understand"

Yang smirked teasingly to the heiress. "Oh I'm sorry I thought all Schnees were borned with stick up their-"

"Quiet you"

Yang snickered a bit more before setting her gaze to the display only to see the end of it. "Wait, that was it?!"

"No"

"Ah okay"

The Crimson Reaper shook her head lightly before focusing back to the bulletin. Just like how she remembered her sister was.

_The funeral will be hold tomorrow in disclosed cemetry. Any attenders are free to come and pay their respect to Ms. Belladonna after the main event is finished._

The solemn atmosphere returned immediately they're reminded of what befell their friend or in Glynda and Ozpin case student. They stared in silence as the Huntress open another bulletin this time containing a single video with a large headline on top of it.

_Leader of Team RWBY Ruby Rose and SDC CEO Weiss Schnee during Blake Belladonna's funeral._

_Shots were fired in the background followed by solemn trumpets sounds. The camera swept over a mass of people standing and sitting around a brown casket, the picture of Blake stood supported by a tripod near it._

"I never thought my burial will be a military-styled one" Blake commented absently.

"Well, you're a part of it so deal with it"

_Speechs were given and one by one people leave the area until a small amount of them left. Amongst them two familiar faces stood side by side near the casket, one sporting a look of sadness while the other stay impassive._

"Can you at least move a muscle of your face?" Yang demanded hotly, glaring at the Huntress.

The said Huntress scowled back to her. "Believe me I really want to punch myself too"

_The one with impassive look which none other than Ruby moved forward, her hand glided on the fine wooden surface of the casket until it rests at one point. She bowed her head for seconds before abruptly taking her leave, unaware with the concerned look Weiss sent her way._

"Okay, why? That was Blake over there and you don't just disrespect your friends like that"

Blake didn't mind it much actually. She was more disturbed by the Huntress' action than anything else. She's sure Ruby has a reason for it and she was right to assume so.

"Blake died one year after you. I haven't recover fully from the trauma of my abduction and losing you. I made a lot of progress in recovery but it dropped back to zero when Blake's gone, didn't help much either we found out the reason of my abduction was to use me as a lure to set up a trap for you guys"

"You know it's not your fault, right?" Weiss scoffed indignantly, crossing her arms and leant on the chair she sat on.

The woman in red laughed softly, a genuine short laugh. "Funny, that's exactly what you said before kicking my sorry ass. Sometime I couldn't help but wonder you enjoyed knocking some sense to me too much especially in literal meaning"

"Well, I promised I'll be the best partner you ever have didn't I?"

In an instant the mirthful expression she had crumbled down and everyone was reminded where they currently at. "Yeah you did" She whispered, bowing her head down to hide the tears forming in her Silver Eyes.

Silence took on as they paid their own respect to the fallen Huntresses. Pyrrha who noticed how quiet Nora and Ren are decided to adress them both in a low tone. "You both have become oddly quiet, is something wrong?"

The orange haired girl shot her partner a look of concern, noting how Ren kept his posture rigid the whole time. He has his own version of distant look and Nora know pretty well what he was thinking.

She gave Pyrrha a reassuring smile. "We're fine, it's just a bit too much to take in. I mean time travel? haahh talk about unexpected, you know''

Pyrrha nodded and forced her gaze away, giving Nora the opportunity to finally speak to Ren. "Ren, I'm sure she won't say anything about our past" She mumbled while grabbing the boy's hand and squeezed it lightly.

He blinked hard, looking at their intertwined hands and to Nora. "I'm sorry, Nora, I overthink it again"

"It's okay, Ren. Just don't let it get the better of you okay?"

"Yes"

Satisfied with the curt answer Nora returned her gaze back to the woman infront of them as she finally pulled herself off whatever thought she was on.

"Weiss found me stacked under pile of alcohol the very same day. I was in the middle of downing my sixth bottle of Atlesian Vodka when she barged in and yelled at me"

Neither of the students or Huntsmen sure which one is more horrifying than the other. The fact Ruby gave up on life by taking alcohol or another fact involving her and 6 bottles of the infamaous Atlesian Vodka, one of the strongest liquors on Remnant currently exist.

"Of course I was fully sober when she ranted and scolded me and I'm sure she knew since I could never get drunk no matter how much I drank but I didn't pay her any mind"

"So your Semblance also affected that, huh?"

"Yeah, it sucks sometime but wouldn't trade it for anything else" She shrugged and shifted her attention from Yang to Blake. "Blake here didn't fare better either, almost like me she just shut down after Yang's died. Weiss was the one to take care of the team but sometime when she thought nobody was watching she would break down to her own version of mourning namely burying herself in a mountain of paperworks and didn't come back until hours later. It scary how she would pull herself whole almost instantly but I supposed she considered it as her responsibility to take care of two cry-babies in the team"

Weiss let out a dismissive snort. "Of course I would"

The Huntress smiled but it's gone just as quickly. "Blake pushed herself too far, she blamed herself for what had happened and strove revenge almost everyday to the splinter groups. She led every assault and attack the White Fang conducted on her own and took missions almost thrice as much a normal Operative would take, we rarely seen each other unless in missions less to catch up with each other"

"Y'all kids should stop blaming yourself for your friends' death. It's inevitable and knowing the line of work you choose it's a door away" Qrow cut in, waving his hand where his flask rests on. "This ain't no perfect world. In a perfect world there is no Grimm to fight and people don't have to afraid of constant death, in that world peope can live happily like in those fairy tales you read" He took a long gulp of his personal supply, feeling the numbing sensation of alcohol kicking in almost immediately. If someone saw him right now they would notice how his eyes went moist from remembering his own failure to protect his partner but nobody paid him a mind thinking it's just another moment of himself.

Except two pairs of Silver Eyes he didn't notice.

"So I supposed next is me? May I know what will it be?"

"It's a recovered Cockpit Data Recorder, we're on a mission and on our way back to Atlas when our dropship were shot down" Weiss's future version of partner replied, dragging the screen down to the second member of RWBY.

Like on the previous recording, the Weiss on the picture wore a white colored Atlesian BDU with blue vest hugging her torso, her snowflake symbol painted on her chest. On her shoulders what appears to be metal plating ran down vertically until it reaches her elbows each colored in blue as stark contrast against her white dress, her blue eyes set impasively to the camera and her hair set loose on her back.

"Wow Weiss, smile would ya?" Yang exclaimed, putting her arms on Weiss's shoulder only to have the smaller girl pushed it away in half-hearted annoyance.

Rolling her eyes she clicked her tongue and returned her attention to the display. "Would you cut it out?"

_Name: Weiss Schnee_

_Callsign: Silber_

_Age: 26_

_Affiliation: RWBY, Beacon Academy._

_Status: KIA_

**_See additional attachment_**

Silently Ruby pressed the last option and retreat, letting the dreadful audio log to play. Weiss death was rather new, only a year prior and the memory of her partner bloodied form still haunted her sometime. Those crimson liquid running down Weiss's middle seeping to her own fingers as she carried her away from their crash site in contrast to her pale complexion is nightmare fuel to Ruby. Sometime she would have vision of her bloody fingers whenever she looked at them, refusing to go away no matter how long and much she washed her hands.

_"Strap in, skip all pre-flight check and prepare for emergency take off"_

_"VTOL engines status rotating in full speed and steady, Weiss"_

_"Copy, inform the command of our latest development"_

_"Wilco" _

There's a pause as the aircraft whine in steady hum. _"Iron Bishop, this is Rot. We are leaving the AO and on our way back to Bastion, Silber and I got the package secured, how copy over?"_

_"Iron Bishop to Rot, clear copy on our end. Beware there is a report of some staglers in the area and a small group of Nevermores sighting near your path"_

_"Rot, Copy. Silber managed to scuttled the facility in our leave so further data leak could be prevented"_

_"Copy that, it's unfortunate indeed but there's nothing more we can do. Good job you two. Over and out"_

A sigh could be heard as the radio buzzed off. Silence took over the room and Ruby use the opportunity to explain what happened knowing full well it will last for a few minutes.

"Our mission was to investigate a research facility near Atlas coastline after it went dark, Weiss and I were the closest at that time we're in our routine patrol so Ironwood sent us to check it up. When we arrived things had gone beyond our control with Grimms roaming the said facility. Ironwood informed us the facility was developing a new type of weapon so naturally he told us to recover it. No survivor was found and the only word befitted the scene we saw was carnage, Weiss made split second decision to activate its self-destruct sequence after we gathered what we needed and later we escape in a dropship"

They nodded thoughtfully as Weiss's voice filled the static once again.

_"What do you think happened back there?"_

A weary sigh could be heard before Ruby replied._ "I don't __know, an entire research facility went down like that is not normal"_

_"Do you think it's an inside job? It's entirely possible with how fast and smooth things unfolded"_

_"Maybe. But what matter is we've got what we need. Didn't expect a boring patrol would turn out like this but I didn't complain though"_

_"Do you prefer to stay in the garisson like Jaune and his team do?"_

"Wait, what? W-we're on the frontline?" The aforementioned boy stammered in surprise.

"Jaune was one of the best Hunter we had, a genius strategizer too. Haven was one of few garrisons still standing, alongside it was Menagerie. He was stationed there under the title of Temporary Commander after Haven's new Headmaster was killed"

Pyrrha nudged the shell-shocked blonde while the rest of his team gave him a look of congratulation. Even Weiss smirked at the mere thought of it.

_"Well it's not that boring and plus the scenery is nice, I miss Mistral for some unknown reason. Not yet to mention I could use my ability better there, fighting Grimm and all you know?"_

_"Always the same excuse. We Specialists have better function than some grunts. You can perform a surgery with Crescent Rose, instead something more precise will be needed"_

_"Like Myrtenaster?"_

The room exploded into laughter except both Rubys who respectively seems content to live up their names.

_"What, no! Where was that-ugh! Do you even understand the analogy?"_

_"Uh... Maybe? Frankly, you confused me, I could perform a surgery with Crescent Rose while blindfolded!"_

_"Yeah let's not try that..."_

_"Wha-Do you question my skill wielding her?!"_

Even through an audio they can pictured pretty clearly how Weiss held her head as her groan resonated pretty clearly from the speaker, resulting another fit of laughter from the occupants which only grew louder when Yang pointed out their Weiss unconsciously did the exact thing.

Meanwhile their leader just stare around in confusion trying to figure out what's wrong and why her older version turned redder so suddenly. "What? what did I say?"

Yang smile wickedly and leant closer to her sister's ear and whispered the reason they laughed, grinning all the way during her explanation. When she finally pulled away Ruby's face was so red Yang was sure she found another shade of the color.

Poor Ruby already losing her innocence, oh well.

_"Ruby, you really should stop phrasing it that way"_

_"What? What do you... Oh gross, Weiss!"_

_"You're the one who said it first, you dunce!"_

_"I never implied it to **that**. You're the pervert one!"_

"I'm not a pervert, dolt!"

_"I'm not a pervert, dolt! Maybe if you said it better I won't have such fiendish thought!"_

_"Say whatever you like but when the media hear about this there will be chaos. Imagine, Weiss Schnee the current SDC CEO had a nasty thought during a mission when her partner talk about weapons with her"_

_"Do that and I'll break your **baby** apart, you know I can and won't hesitate to do it. A bit of gravity glyphs above and below and the only thing left for you to mourn is dust"_

_"Nooo... Please don't I won't say anything I promise!"_

_"Good"_

"Weiiiissssss... I didn't know you have such horrendeous idea" The red hooded girl whined, her hands moved almost instinctively to protect her beloved Scythe only to be met with an empty space.

Weiss smiled to her partner evilly. "I didn't, but now I found it rather intriguing. What sound does a Sniper-Scythe produce under the stress of singularity I wonder?"

Ruby let out a terrified squeal while her order self flinched at the thought. More than ever the Huntress has a sudden urge to put Crescent Rose away from Weiss, far far away out of her reach.

_"Hey, there's a fritz on the radar, are you seeing this?"_

_"Hm? let me see" _A pause as the sounds of buttons being flipped filled the silence. _"Stupid machine might be broken"_

_"I'm not sure it's the machine, Weiss... Should we inform command about this?"_

_"You do that, I'll keep my head on the swivel. There's something going on and I don't like it one bit"_

_"Got it. Iron Bishop this is Rot, we encounter an anomaly in our position, requesting advise how copy?"_

Static.

_"Rot to Command, how copy?"_

More static.

_"Weiss, Command is not responding"_

_"Then my assumption is correct. We're being jammed, what would we do now?"_

_"Let's see. There is mountain range not far ahead, we can use it to cover our trail and protect ourselves. Increase altitude and put engines on the max but gradually, we don't want to alert them"_

_"Okay, sounds like a plan"_

_"Give me weapon read out"_

_"We don't have any offensive capability. A few flares are ready but that was it"_

_"Put them on standby"_

At this point everyone has tensed up in anticipation with the students literally sitting on the edge of their seats, all eyes focused on the display despite the blank state its on. When an alarm suddenly blared on from the device they almost jumped off in surprise as Weiss's frantic voice followed later on.

_"They found out! We've got missiles heading our way! Popping out flares now!"_

_"Sensor detected multiple heat signatures from the ground below! This is not staglers!"_

_"Another missiles inbound, hang tight I'm taking evasive actions" _

Both Huntresses grunted under the effect of G exertion. _"Where are they coming from?!"_

_"I don't know it seems like MANPADS but to have it this many then there must be a considerable amount of enemy troops down there"_

_"We can't afford to let them have the data!"_

_"I know, Weiss!"_

The next few minutes were spent listening them both struggling to escape. Not just once they felt their stomach dropped when a rather close call occured only to have it lifted back for moments before it repeated again. That was until a rather big explosion resonated from the speakers, filling the room with dread.

_"We're hit! Mayday mayday mayday this is Dropship-Delta One-One-Eighteen, requesting assistance to any nearby friendly units currently on Western Mountain region-"_

The audio buzzed to static cutting whatever Ruby said. The Crimson Huntress stared at the display as it returned to show Weiss's ID before shifting her gaze to the other occupants of the room. "We've got hit right infront of our cockpit, burning our radar and communication relay. Didn't matter much does our radar and comms being jammed or not when we've got nothing to send our signal out" She paused to let what she said sink in. "Weiss got hit by debris, she had a stray metal beam impaling her abdomen. The wound wasn't severe but without help coming for us she slowly bleed out to death. I swear I never ran so fast in my life before but even so I couldn't get her saved" She sniffed and wiped her wet eyes, giving the heiress a guilty look. "She died in my arms, right a few kilometres away from our nearest outpost. If I was just a bit more faster she would still be alive"

Weiss flinched when the woman smashed her fist hard to the table, causing the hologram to flicker momentarily before it stabilized. She grimaced slightly watching blood start to trickle down the said fist, noting how the Huntress deactivated her Aura deliberately.

The crimson liquid ran down her fingers until it dropped to the floor, despite it Ruby still clenched her hand hard to let the pain surge inside of her. "After Weiss's death the SDC then absorbed to Atlas Military, with no heir deemed worthy enough to continue its legacy Weiss's mother decided to let Ironwood control it for the time being"

"What happened to my father and brother?" Gesturing toward Winter she added "And my sister?"

The woman shook her head. "Jacques was jailed for his crimes, and trust me, the less you know what happened to your siblings the better"

Weiss was about to argue but a firm call of her name by Winter got her hesitate. Reluctantly she nodded but the hint of trepidiation on her face still exist as she eyed the Huntress warily.

Winter understood what the other Specialist was implying. She and Whitley were killed at one point during the war, leaving Weiss as the only lone heir of SDC. She didn't feel any remorse to what befell her father at all, there was a reason why she left Schnee manor and join the military afterall.

"Weeks after the incident we've got report of what actually happened. Just like what Weiss guessed there was a mole inside Research and Development departement. They released Grimm into the facility as distraction since they didn't have access into the deeper part of the building to bait us and taking the weapon's blueprint. The military was busy monitoring the Nevermores Ironwood mentioned in the recording they failed to acknowledge the strike team waiting for Weiss and me until it was too late"

"Heh, of course Jimmy would fail to" Qrow scoffed, taking another swig of his beverage.

"So what happened to you then?" Weiss asked tentatively, mindful with how sensitive the subject was. She completely ignored Qrow and instead focused on the Huntress that was her partner's future self.

"I've got inserted to new team. Well, not exactly new but after voicing my insistance to be put on frontline Ironwood finally relented and got me transfered to my previously unofficial team" They followed her gaze, gasping in surprise as the realized who she was staring to.

"No way!"

"But I thought Jaune was a Commander!"

"Does that mean I got to lead two teams?!"

"Wait wait wait!" Yang yelled raising her arms high in the air to gain everyone's attention. "RNJR. Assuming R is Ruby, N represents Nora, J obviously is Jaune and R as Ren then where's Pyrrha? You barely talk with them this whole time!"

The Mistralian Champion frowned, she hadn't thought about it but now Yang mentioned it she couldn't help but feeling apprehensive. Where was she during the war? Did she join some kind of top secret organization? People always said she has exemplary skills so perhaps they found a use of her that demanded her to work away from her team?

"Pyrrha was dead"

All thoughts grinded to halt at the confession. Pyrrha could feel all of her friends looking toward her direction in horror. She blinked a couple of time to mentally shake herself awake before turning her attention back at the Huntress. "I beg your pardon?"

The said Huntress sighed, slowly scrolling down to the second team display. Wordlessly she opened the file, revealing RNJR IDs arranged horizontally beside each other.

_Name: Ruby Rose_

_Callsign: Rot_

_Age: 25_

_Affiliation: RWBY (Defuncted), RNJR, Beacon Academy._

_Status: Active Duty._

**_See additional attachment._**

_Name: Nora Valkyrie_

_Callsign: Rosa_

_Age: 27_

_Affiliation: JNPR (Defuncted), RNJR, Beacon Academy._

_Status: Active Duty._

**_See additional attachment._**

_Name: Jaune Arc_

_Callsign: Gold_

_Age: 27_

_Affiliation: JNPR (Defuncted), RNJR, Beacon Academy._

_Status: Active Duty._

**_See additional attachment._**

_Name: Lie Ren_

_Callsign: Grun_

_Age: 27_

_Affiliation: JNPR (Defuncted), RNJR, Beacon Academy._

**_See additional attachment._**

_Addendum regarding JNPR:_

_Former member Pyrrha Nikos was killed during the Fall of Beacon protecting the civilian against offending forces. Her bravery, resolve and tenacity exceeded the call of duty and beyond, granting her the highest honorary symbol Medal of Honor._

"Pyrrha knew she couldn't win and despite herself she still had a thought to save Jaune before setting off to fight the false Fall Maiden, giving us extra time to evacuate the school. Weiss and I were coming to support her but we were too late, I saw Pyrrha got killed right infront of my eyes right here in this very same place"

"Where was Ozpin?" Qrow asked, genuinely concerned. His adult version of niece said she lost two of her friends during the Fall of Beacon, and if one was the Champion girl then who was the other one?

"Ozpin was dead. He died protecting the true Fall Maiden, you know where she is"

Ozpin grimaced and shared a look with Qrow, if he still has any doubt to the Huntress it's definitely gone now. But there was one flaw about her story of origin he has been meaning to point out since the moment Qrow stepped in to his office earlier and explained the situation to him, something he was sure would upset her.

"Ms. Rose, I'm not saying you're lying but there is a fault of your... Time travel theory" He started as gently as he could, walking toward a frowning Ruby.

"What is that?"

"Well for starter time travel is adamantly impossible to achieve in practice, unless you somehow can move faster than light itself. Space-time theory dictated for an object to be able to time travelling it should be put in a significant distance from its point of beginning in addition to high speed"

"What does that mean, Professor?" Young Ruby asked in confusion, barely understanding what her Headmaster said.

Unsurprisingly it was her older self who anwered her question again. "The delay. Like when you were using radio to communicate there would always be a delay in transmitting especially in long distance. Light is not much different either"

"Different how?"

"The subject of time travel is relative, it depends on which point of view. The sun requires 8 minutes time gap until its light reaches us, what we see of it is the past, precisely 8 minutes ago" Ozpin explained, giving the Huntress an apologetic look. "I'm afraid you misinterpreted what your late mother told you, Ms. Rose"

Ruby felt sick.

For the first time she was the one sporting a shocked expression. She brought her hand up to her head when a sudden wave of dizziness hit her, causing her to stagger on her feet until she leant on Ozpin's table breathing heavily almost hyperventilating even. Her ears rung painfully on each sides of her head adding the headache she felt.

As soon as it appeared however it's gone.

She looked around the area, noting how everyone look at her in mixed form of concern and pity. Her mother didn't lie to her, she asked her would she like to fix everything or not, and she never said anything about time travel either. Summer simply offered her a second chance, not for her world but _this_ world, whatever that was supposed to mean.

"Then where is this? I'm not from here..." She mumbled numbly.

"Plausible answer is you're travelling between dimensions, one that was younger than yours"

"You're saying there are other worlds out there as screwed as mine? And possibly also have outer intervention like this one has?" She gritted her teeth in anger, fingers digging the edge of the table. "Why does it have this privilege while mine didn't?!"

"Ms. Rose-"

"No. I... I need time to think this one out, I'm sorry" She abruptly took her Scroll, cutting the connection instantly. Taking a deep breath to recompose herself Ruby walked to the nearest window and threw it open before jumping outside, eliciting a shriek of horror from her younger self.

"Wait!" The hooded girl dashed forward to the open window, followed by her team. They looked down to the ground searching for any sign of the Huntress and silently braced themselves with gruesome scene.

Instead a flash of red shot up to the sky, startling them as it flew to the top of their dorm building followed by a trail of rose petals. When it arrived it morphed to none other than Ruby herself who later settled down and stare absently somewhere far, unaware with four pairs of eyes staring at her in awe.

"I didn't know you can do that!" Yang exclaimed, shaking her sister excitedly.

"That because I can't! How fast do you think she is to be able to run through the air?!"

"I don't know, but it gotta be very fast"

"One day you'll reach that level too" Blake commented with a proud smile, patting her leader's shoulder.

Ruby blushed but nodded nonetheless. She knew it's a long way to go but with practice and exercise she was sure she'll achieve that level of skill in using her Semblance. "Thanks"

"Now students, I think that was all for today. I know this is much to take in and in case you don't feel like to join today's lectures make sure to inform your assigned professors" Glynda announced out loud, already in the middle of tidying the scattered chairs to neat stacks with her Semblance.

They gave her a dull nod before making their way to the elevator. RWBY however stopped when they noticed their leader still stood behind the open window with thoughtful look on her face.

"Professor Ozpin?"

Ozpin paused mid-motion pulling his chair to stare at his youngest student, a student that was more unique than what he thought. "Yes, Ms. Rose?"

Ruby hesitated, giving one more glance toward the figure sitting atop their dorm building. "When you enacted me as a leader, was it because I'm suitable or you don't have other candidates?"

"Ruby!" Her team exclaimed in unison, surprised their leader has such a thought.

Ozpin regarded her for a moment before smiling softly. "Tell me, Ruby, what make you think of such idea?"

Ruby squirmed in discomfort sensing everyone's gazes on her. "W-well, I always feel like I'm not adequate enough to lead them" She gestured weakly to her team when she noticed the disapproving look her sister and friends gave her. "Take Weiss as example, she was taught to lead people since the day she was borned! Blake is also a good strategizer and Yang's charm motivated us more than anything" In a rare state of insecurity, Ruby wrapped her arms around herself. "I'm nobody compared to them" She finished with a whisper.

If she looked up to Ozpin she would have noticed his smile grew wider for a fraction. "I believe you look it the wrong way"

"Huh?"

"You see, no offense to Ms. Schnee but I'm sure the right word to describe her leadership is bossy, she wasn't taught to lead people but to boss them. There are notable differences between leading and bossing if you're not aware"

Weiss looked away, she didn't say it but what Ozpin said was true. She has no idea how to lead people. Living with her own team made her realize how different it was between leading and bossing and among it was the difficulty in being a leader, at first she yearned for the title but after seeing what responsibility Ruby has to enforce Weiss was glad she never be one. Although sometime she felt sorry for the younger girl for what trouble she has gone through because of her team.

"Ms. Belladonna might be the best strategizer in your team but to be a leader you don't just have to be smart. And your sister, while arguably is the most charming one you also have this trait in you whether you're aware or not"

"But I don't know how to lead people, I'm not the smartest and as admirable as Yang!"

"No but you have something not everyone has in you, do you know what?" When Ruby shook her head no Ozpin took it upon himself to enlighten her. "You possessed the ability to understand people and unite them. Doesn't matter what you lacks of since you have people covering them for you. You have people watching your back and ready to support you, Ms. Rose"

Ruby seemed to realize her peculiarity for the first time in her life. She never thought about it but now Ozpin mentioned it she couldn't help but register how unique her team is. Despite filled with conflicting characters somehow they managed to make it works.

However remembering what she had just witnessed she felt like she had failed. "If so then why did they have to die?"

Blake, Yang, and Weiss shared a glance to each other, shifting their stances in discomfort hearing their leader's broken question.

"We don't. You succeeded in keeping us alive for years, Rubes, not the other way around" Yang grabbed her sobbing sister and guides the younger girl away with both Weiss and Blake flanking her sides protectively. They walked passed JNPR who for some unknown reason just stood motionlessly looking at them.

"You guys go on ahead" Jaune stated flatly, giving Yang a nod of affirmation. He knew they need privacy and being cramped in such small place is anything but.

"Thank you, Jaune. Pizza is on me next time" Yang said with a smile of appreciation before punching their designated floor.

When the double doors slid shut Jaune let out a tired sigh. "Yeah..." He turned on his heels and stare at Ozpin in wonder. "She really is something else, don't you think?"

"One of few girls who has dream to be the knight in the shining armor instead of the damsel in distress" He agreed thoughtfully.

**_~Continue~_**

The sky was clear, blue bright and peaceful.

Ruby almost forgot how mesmerizing Vale was during its height. She had grown accustomed to seeing broken and crumbled building during her mission, and not rarely with dead bodies littering the area it's almost numbing now.

Of course she had appreciated the beauty before but looking it from Beacon always felt different than upclose, maybe it was the altitude that made it different or maybe the sense of nostalgia it carries but either way didn't matter much for her.

The city is still standing, lively and intact, safe from whatever horror her's had gone through. And that was enough for her.

Ruby swung her legs absently as a gust of wind washed over her caressing her red strands of hair, she was sitting atop on the edge of student dorm building where she spent the best part of her life on. Beacon courtyard spanning not so far from her position but all of her attention was focused toward Vale capital city despite the stares and various whispers she receieved from the students.

She fished out her necklace, fidgeting with the pendant attached to it. It was a gift from her father for her 18th birthday, saying it belonged to her mother before but later was stored away when she was died. The rose shaped part of jewelry has the same symbol Rose family had and she supposed the pendant has more story than what her father knew considering her family actually had a long list of history.

Alas it doesn't matter now since in the end it'll ended up on her hands either way.

She sighed and forced her gaze to the sky once again, squinting when the sun glares back toward her reflecting its light on her silver orbs. "I should have not react that way" She muttered to herself, feeling another wave of headache building once again. Naturally she brought her hands to rub the throbbing sensation away, silently scolding herself for her poor reaction to the revelation. "So what if this was different world anyway? It's still the same Remnant I knew"

_Though those bastards of Gods should stop creating worlds after worlds if they ended up screwing everything again, we're not their playthings._

She didn't know how long she sat there but her skin stung from the heat so Ruby supposed it's been a while. Most of her time was spent thinking about what she had gone through to arrive on this version of Remnant while the other to think abour her course of actions. Did she do the right thing by revealing everything to everyone? Probably no.

People always said about tranquility in ignorance but Ruby never believe it. Not all ignorance is a bliss, sometime knowing what you don't know will help you prepare in the worst of time.

Of course what she told them was just a friction of what actually happened. She didn't tell them what befell Penny during Vytal Festival, she didn't tell them how Blake ran away under self-guilt after it or how Yang swallowed herself in a state of depression for losing her arm.

Ruby afraid the full version of the war will corrupt them knowing those examples are just the icing of her miserable life so she settled on the less horrifying parts instead. Although she got to admit reminiscing her team's demise wasn't a pleasant experience at all no matter how much she saw it by herself.

"Hey" A soft voice called from behind her, causing Ruby to shift on her seat to look at its source only to be met with a familiar sight.

She smiled and greeted back. "Hey to you too"

Her younger self straightened up and the Huntress finally noticed the red bundle of fabric folded on her hands. "I want to return your hood. I patched what I could but some tears are just too hard to fix" She confessed, unwrapping the fabric to let it hung loosely for Ruby to examine it. "What do you think?"

Well, she was impressed and thankful. During her youth she rarely stitched her hood by herself, usually it was Yang who did it for her. Maybe that was one of the reasons why she hate sewing so much and to have mini-her done it by herself was surprising. "Why thank you for fixing and keeping it for me, that was a good job if I ever seen one"

The young girl grinned hearing the the compliment but it turned to shy one almost immediately as she hugged the hood close to her chest. "Would you mind if I help you put it back on?"

Ruby smiled softly, turning her back to face her younger self. The girl misinterpreted her action as refusal and had her spirit dropped but when the Huntress patted one of her shoulders invitingly she looked back up with hopeful gaze. "Put it here, little Rose"

She jumped almost immediately to action and in no time already has the red hood tied neatly around the Huntress's shoulders, making sure to smoother the fabric before setting down beside the woman. "How is it?!" She asked excitedly, kicking her dangling legs in anticipation.

"Like having a part of my soul returned" She replied with a smile, already melting in satisfaction having the all too common weight around her shoulders back.

It's not an exaggeration really. Her hood has been a part of herself since long time ago even before Crescent Rose and needless to say already has her fair share of Aura absorbed to it, not yet to mention it's probably one of the most precious things she has left, something that was truly her's.

"You know, when we first met I thought you were Mom"

"Yeah you said that pretty clearly"

"Which was not a baseles assumption! I never thought I'll grow up looking exactly like her it's almost scary even, you know?"

A sigh. "I know you miss her, kid. We both know that. But I've moved on and so would you, all you have to do is look around and appreciate what you have while it last"

"But how? Mom was my everything, she was the only one direct relative I had but now she's gone" Ruby stared understandingly to her younger self, feeling her heart clenched when she noticed the tears threatening to escape the Huntress-in-training's eyes. "This is suck, it's not past noon yet but I've already cried more than a whole week worth" She added bitterly.

Tentatively she reached out a hand to the smaller girl, pulling her into a tender embrace. "Look over there, tell me what you see"

She did just that, following the direction where the Huntress point to. Squinting through her moist eyes her eyes settled on a familiar scene. "Uh, Blake reading her smut, Yang and her many collections of loud musics and Weiss... Glaring at us?"

"What?"

"Oh no, she's not glaring at us, she's glaring at you"

Ruby clicked her tongue before flicking the younger redhead lightly, eliciting a fit of giggle from her. "Aren't you sassy, young lady" She shook her head and all form of humor left her. "But no, like I said you should try to look it in different way. I once thought all I need was Mom but with time I realized how invaluable my friends are, slowly they replaced the emptiness she left and I learned to accepted them in my life"

"But it's difficult to just forget her. Sometime I wish I could have spent more time with her just to understand how it feels to be loved by a mother, something I never got to experience..."

"Then don't forget her. Remember her on the fullest but live your life in the present and dedicates it for the future, dwelling on what had happened won't change anything but preventing anything from happening will change everything"

"Is that why you're here? to prevent the unfortunate events from happening?"

She had thought about it before and her answer still the same. "I've done a lot of mistakes, some were unforgivable than else. My misdeeds should have enough to be my end but as usual something always give me a second chance, I believe everyone deserve it if I do and so I offer them another one everytime I could. That includes the people in this world regardless who they are I deemed worthy enough"

"You did it for me..." Young Ruby whispered in realization.

"You and everyone" She nodded down to RWBY dorm room, confirming what the girl said.

Those unnecessary deaths don't need to happen, those burdens she endured don't have to befall this Ruby. All horror of war will die out along with her and never to be heard again.

A pair of hands grabbed her injured one and Ruby blinked in surprise seeing a stream of red energy flowing from the offending appendages, slowly healing the wound. She was too preoccupied to realize she hadn't put her Aura back on since she she deactivated it earlier and if someone attacked her she would be dead right now.

Scolding herself for her apparent incompetency she silently will her Aura to active, making sure the red shimmered on her body before retracting her hand away. "You should not have wasted your Aura like that"

A sheepish look greeted her back. "Well, I couldn't stand to see myself getting hurt, you know?"

"That... Sounds strange"

"Yeah you're right. I think we should work on name, I don't want people to get confused in adressing us"

_Right, that too._

"How about you call me Rot from now on?"

"Rot? Isn't that your callsign?"

"It is, I've grown accustomed to hearing people calls me that so it won't be a problem"

"Hm... Rot Rose... I don't know what rot mean but it sounds badass"

"It's an ancient Atlesian language, literally mean red. Weiss's name actually translated as white you know? And I meant her real name not callsign"

"Really?! Do you think it's a coincidence?"

"Dunno but the Schees seems rather obsessed with white color" The Huntress paused, mulling a thought. "Schnee translated to snow, by the way"

A stupid grin broke on the younger redhead's face and Ruby squirmed in discomfort knowing what was on her mind. "I can't wait to tell Yang about this, she could make some terrible joke to unnerve Weiss"

"Okay stop right there. I don't want Weiss freezing your butt because you upset her"

"But it would be fun!"

"Kid, don't"

She pouted dejectedly having her plan spoiled but it quickly shifted to an excited smile when another though hit her. "Hey, is that Scythe you left back on Emerald Forest Crescent Rose?"

"Yeah, where is she?"

"I stored it on the workshop, I just finished working on the Sniper part and about to move on its main blade holder. She has grown up so much I couldn't recognize her! Such a beautiful girl she is!"

"You tell me that. I spent most of my free time refining her but recently I don't have time to do it. Say, how bad is she?"

"Well, apart from her blades I think the gun components are fine. The spear below is undamaged but the firing chamber was charred, her recoil pad was missing and some few smaller parts needed fixing and replacements. Also I saw you equipped her with discharger? I couldn't find the power unit though but it seems electric one"

Before she could stop herself she already had Cleaver Rose extended forward with its special feature activated, grinning ear to ear when she noticed the drool threatening to fall from her younger self's open mouth. "You're looking for this?" The girl squealed excitedly and made a move to reach the weapon only to have her hands swatted away by the Huntress. "Nooopeeee... Not now kid you have class to attend, don't you? "

"B-but Professor Goodwitch said we can take an absent for today! Please lemme take a look of it I beg you!"

"No, attend your class or you'll never lay a hand on this goods"

Her younger self let out a sound distinctively not unlike a wounded animal and Ruby's sadistic smile grew wider. "Please I'll do anything for you..."

"Anything?" A nod. "My how desperate of you... How about you take parts in today's lectures-"

"But-!"

_"-Then _I will give you the blueprints of Cleaver Rose and Crescent Rose"

The effects almost instantaneous, the once dejected young girl had her spirit lifted off in mach speed and she immediately shot up to her feet. "You promise?!"

"Yep. I can help you later on too"

Having her resolve renewed she didn't wait to dash away from their location, leaving the Huntress alone in a cloud of rose petals only to return for a confession. "Actually I was wondering would you spare your time to train me and my team later? I really could use the ability my eyes possessed"

Ruby shrugged nonchalantly. "Sure"

"Alright great!"

And with that she was gone, not so long later Ruby could see a blur of red burst in RWBY dorm room who later proceeded to unceremoniously drag a disheveled Yang and a shocked Blake in another shower of red rose petals. Weiss however continues to look at her for a moment and she playfully gave the heiress a two fingers salute as recognition.

_"Watch out for them" _She mouthed out, gesturing toward the open door. Weiss looked back and nodded before leaving the room, seemingly understand what she was implying.

Ruby smiled and once again averted her gaze to the sky, watching as another swirl of cloud started to forming amidst the blue. She wasn't sure with what would happen now everything was changing but she couldn't help but feel like something was coming and it's not pretty. Whatever it was it managed to bug her out and she didn't like it one but.

Slowly she rose to her feet, dusting herself from any stray materials before setting her direction to Beacon workshop. Crescent Rose still requires her attention and she has no plan letting her younger self tinkering with it's main blade holder, part of the reasons why she offered her the blueprint instead figuring it out by herself. That components had claimed a lot of lives in gruesome way and Ruby was sure some remains of her former opponents still exist on it.

She was serious when she said she had done a lot of mistakes in her life and she wasn't proud of them. People called her a hero but if killing means becoming a hero then she prefer to be a normal person. There is no difference between being a hero and villain, both actually doing their action under the name of evil, one out of spite while the other is necessary evil to make sure things be better.

She's not a hero, she just a someone who wanted to fix the world when nobody else willing to. Nothing less and nothing more.

_Arms wide open I stand alone_

_I'm no hero and I'm not made of stone_

_Right or wrong I can hardly tell_

_I'm on the wrong side of heaven_

_And the righteous side_

_Righteous side of hell._

**_TBC_**

**Holy cow this is the longest chapter I've ever wrote! Y'all don't know the struggle writing this down with lagging phone lol though it's more to FF app itself, so in case you find some typos it's probably not entirely on me.**

**Anyway I should be studying right now with exams and all coming but I decided to throw the idea out of aircraft window straight down a burning lava. Next update might take a bit longer time because of it (not like I ever study before but engineering and all) so don't murder me okay?**

**If any of you thought about how little JNPR reacts and some other plot holes exist in this chapter don't worry, I'll smooth it out on the next chapters. I'm still focusing on the plot right now and beside having characters cramped in one scene is kind of difficult to write while having their personas maintained at the same time.**

**_Responses for reviews_**

**Sorry but I've got to keep this brief.**

**_g_****_othboy.wxlf_****_: _****Maybe I enjoy watching people suffer? Hmm...**

**_TheLastBatallion: _I'm afraid there is nothing I can do about them. The flashbacks are just as important they are a part of the plot.**

**_LucemDivinus: _Thanks for the compliment and wish! It's getting better now.**

**_merendinoemiliano:_ Well there is a reason why I considered Qrow as the best uncle ever, you know? And regarding Raven... I can't say anything about her yet.**

**_ranjira1988: _It's up to you to consider it, mate.**

**_DavidQrowWashington: _I remember that note. I actually had half the mind to make young Ruby find it at one point but pretty much scrapped the idea. Beside killing the shock value it can also causing complications I haven't thought yet. Ruby didn't tinker with the weapon for a whole month, I hinted it from Blake's POV a few chapters back that they had to study intensely for a whole month because I believe it that way.**

**_FaleantheGreat:_ You'll see the impact pretty soon (probably have) but I can't tell you more about Cinder's plans in fear of spoilers. Just to know it's going to be huge.**

**_Guest (Tori): _Finally! someone who understand the struggle lol. English often made me want to tear my hair out in frustration but it's just as interesting to learn.**

**_JackTheSpades:_ ****I understand how annoying it can be waiting for a story to update because I'm a reader too, and to have people waiting my work for a long time is not something I enjoy.**

**Also I didn't put much of a thought about the past canon actually. What I'm doing is filling the gaps the main cast leave out, what the characters are thinking and how they are off the screen. This is how I picture them in my head, simply that. I could have created my own version of RWBY past but like I said I didn't put much thought beside the blank. And yes this story will diverge sooner or later, who knows...**

**About Summer and why she didn't go on hiding. She and Maria were different cases, Summer was just a kid when her family perished and barely understand what was going on, she had the authorities taking care of her with (possibly) Ozpin interfering, so whoever responsible for hunting her family kind of having a difficulty. Beside she's dead, right? So they might have succeeded. In the canon cast even Salem wasn't aware with Ruby's existance and ability until Cinder got heavily wounded so what chance does this mysterious assailant has? I left a lot of plot holes but while it can be used to write a prequel of this story It also won't play that big of an impact either.**

**I got to admit previous chapter is too fast-paced. Like I said it's supposed to be one with this but apparently I overdid it a little. You know when I enjoy writing a chapter I tend to go beyond what I previously expected and I should have reconsidered it better but oh well too late for it now.**

**Lying to Ruby and gangs will only complicated matters, beside Crescent Rose is kind of a kicker here. They already had a suspicion about possible blueprint leaks, remember? And the last thing future Ruby wanted is being accused as a thief. And why Ozpin isn't surprised? Well Qrow has encountered him and demanded to know about his origin out of blue after meeting the once mysterious Huntress so he must have had his own theory and thus prepared himself.**

**That concluded it, I see you guys on the next chapter and as always don't forget to review.**

**Take it easy, guys.**

**Cipher032 out!**


	11. Chapter 11: Lost Moments

**_Disclaimer: RWBY belong to Rooster Teeth and its original creator Monty Oum (R.I.P)_**

**Please review and enjoy this chapter.**

**Chapter 11: Lost Moments**

It's quiet in JNPR dorm room, like how they usually prefered the situation.

Unlike their sister team who seemingly always has something to squabble between themselves Jaune's team spent most of their time together filled with silence. Not the one out of awkwardness or unease but the one simply exist to enjoy each other's company.

Ren was leaning aginst his bed frame, legs crossed and eyes shut meditating. The martial arts expert like to spent his time to think about what he had done, contemplating his course of life and occasionally question his own actions. In contrary to his partner and best friend he never talked much and prefer to stay back of conversation to silently listen and speak when he deemed necessary. Of course he still has his own sense of humor which he suspected Nora to be blamed for, but they usually conserved to close friends only, he's not the type of person who speaks of nonsense to stranger afterall.

Nora herself has her legs crossed too but unlike Ren she was leaning on the headrest of her bed, and unlike Ren she was reading a comic book while stuffing her mouth full with snacks, _and_ unlike Ren she has headphones on the sides of her head blasting full volume of music. The orange haired girl likes to spend her time on her own fantasy world involving people with super power but her favorit was this guy who wield a hammer as weapon and has the ability to summon lightning, oh how she wished she too has the ability like that.

Pyrrha was sitting on their study table, leaning on it loosely with her side pressed against the wooden furniture. On her hand a book rests open while on the other her finger absently tracing circle on her cup of tea. She occasionally would take a sip of the beverage before turning her attention back at the book, smiling softly when she reaches some particular scenes in her book.

And Jaune...

Jaune was bored out of his mind.

The blond swordman stared at the plain white ceiling with a look of boredom on his face as he laid on his bed with fingers crossed behind his head. He didn't have anything better to do but to wait until sleep finally claim him, which was something he wasn't sure will come soon with his raging thoughts.

Today's events were unexpected to put it lightly.

Honestly he didn't know what to make of them. At one point he felt enlightened knowing he would succeeded and becoming a Hunter, on the other he hate it Pyrrha had to die and probably never seen him achieving his dream. At first he had no objective in being a Hunter beside the fame and how cool it was, but now glancing at the girl sitting not too far away from him who despite was a champion and leagues away better than him still uphold deferentiality more than anything he can't help but feel ashamed to himself.

Pyrrha was the best partner someone could ask for and to have him getting such a privilege felt surreal. He never seen the girl based on her achievement of course but living with her for a month he had come to appreciate the redhead more than anything. She never talked down people, heck she never gloated on people about her capability. The farthest she came to gloating was when she teased him how she would lead the team one day if he kept lacking on training but even then Jaune supposed Pyrrha was just trying to motivate him. It worked perfectly though and if the small smile Pyrrha had back then worth anything it's probably a satisfaction.

They've been training together whenever they have spare time and even though it's just a week since he accepted the deal Jaune could tell how strong Pyrrha was. It should have come to as no surprise considering _who_ Pyrrha was but seeing and _experiencing_ it by himself felt different than from stories he heard. The title of Invincible Girl definitely something she deserved to earn because during their spar he never got the chance to lay a finger on her defense. Come to think of it the only people who managed to push Pyrrha to defensive every a while were the sisters living across from them and handful other he can counted with his fingers but even so she would manage to push back and win.

The only reasons why Ruby even capable to force her to defense was because of her super speed and being close quarter combatan like Pyrrha was it's rather difficult when your opponent keep spawning randomly seemingly out of blue-or in Ruby's case red-and start shooting at you with .50 Cal rounds. Yang herself was in other hand, she would use brute force and try knocking Pyrrha off her ground whenever she could with Ember Celica highly explosive shells and kept advancing forward despite Pyrrha's counter attack.

Pyrrha's tactic was rather simple back then, by letting the sisters burned their Semblances off before attacking in full force. Jaune knew Pyrrha wasn't invincible but she was resourceful to her surrounding, paying utmost attention to anything and everything around her to formulate a plan so she can win. Her Semblance help her greatly in a fight and she rarely went out bare-fisted thanks to it.

Of course those were when Yang and Ruby fought her alone because everyone know they nearly invincible together, something some students have learned from their 'unofficial matches' with the sisters, Jaune supposed spending most of their time training together responsible for their top-notch coordination because nobody would have ever thought a freaking Scythe could pack _that _much of a punch when combined with the recoil of what basically arm cannons, they almost destroyed the wall barrier of their training ground for God's sake.

"Would you like to borrow it?" Pyrrha suddenly said, smiling to him and that's when Jaune realized he'd been staring to his partner the whole time.

"Gah! Sorry I was just thinking!" He declared with a hint of red on his cheeks.

"Well if you want to read this too you can just ask me later, I'm almost finish"

He nodded absently, giving a last glance to the red book held between her fingers and squinted his eyes to make out its title.

_A Blue Dove for the Princess... Huh, sounds clićhe._

He shook his head and sighed, slumping down to the bed and back to stare at the ceiling. Pyrrhe seems rather nonchalant after today despite what she had seen and heard, knowing her she probably fine with it. Jaune however couldn't look at it on the same light as she did because in his opinion Pyrrha didn't deserve to die early, she's too kind for her own good sometime but it's just how she was. He hoped he would be able to help her when the time arrive but he was just too weak he'll probably getting in her way like how he usually did.

His fists clenched as his eyes shone with determination, making a silent vow to be better and be there for his friends even if it was the last thing he do before slowly closing his eyes.

_No, she won't have to die because I'll help her when she needs me like how a partner supposed to do._

**_~Continue~_**

Regardless how rare it was it doesn't mean their side of dormitory never had its own moment of silence.

Most of the time however it was because of the occupants either too tired or knocked off their minds to start a conversation that caused the silence, but Weiss couldn't care more which one it was because she was sore _as hell_. She wasn't sure what got into Ruby this noon when she suddenly barged in their room with renewed resolution and literally dragged everyone off to attend classes despite her own previously firm objection but she supposed it has something to do with Ruby's older self.

Weiss was lying on her bunk bed already dressed on her nightgown, it's 8 in the evening and everyone was ready to go sleeping and that including her. Most of her teammates already dressed in their night attires except for Ruby who seems content to stay awake by the way she was humming above the heiress's bed.

Blake as usual didn't pay much mind to her friends, her amber gaze settled on the book between her palms intensely almost in accord with its content, her extra pair of ears were free and she was thankful for it since the bow she used wasn't that comfortable to begin with. She relished the feeling of wind washing her cat ears and the way they twitched unrestricted.

Yang was laying on her belly, head propped by one of her hands and currently staring at her sister across from where she was with a small smile on her face. Ruby was humming to herself while slowly tracing her fingers on Crescent Rose's now warm surface thanks to its owner kindness putting it under her blanket and constant hug. Yang know when Weiss find out she'll probably murder Ruby for bringing her weapon but Yang will let her sister live what little time she has.

The blonde still upset with what she had heard and witnessed earlier in Ozpin's office especially that one part where her sister's future self mentioned what kind of treatments she got in the time of war from her enemy. There are rules about POW exist and the fact the splinter group of former White Fang disregarded it made her blood boil both in literal and methaporical meaning, she would make sure to keep a close eye on her sister from now on and if Ruby thought she couldn't be more protective then she was wrong big time.

No one is going to lay their fingers on her precious last Rose.

"Where do you think Rot at?"

Yang sighed at Ruby's seemingly infinite repeatance. She's been asking the same thing for the last few hours they returned, heck even during their lectures she would whisper the same thing to either her sister or friends. At first they were confused on who she was refering to but after Ruby's explanation and a slap of Glynda's riding crop they found out Rot was what older Ruby wanted to be called. Yang was fine with it since they would need different names so not causing confusion anyway.

"Where do you think she would go?" Yang countered half-heartedly, not really paying much attention to the question.

"Hm... Let's see. Cafetaria isn't possible since she would try to avoid crowdy place and other places seems irrelevant except... Workshop?"

"What she probably doing in the workshop?"

"I dunno, working on Crescent Rose future version I guess?" There's a hint of excitement in her tone when Ruby mentioned Crescent Rose future version and Yang's interest spiked up at it.

"You haven't finished working on it?"

Ruby scoffed and stopped mid-motion running her fingers on her beloved weapon. "I'm good but I can't instantly fix a weapon, Yang"

"Oh? If it was Crescent Rose you should be able to fix her in no time considering you _can _do it to yours"

"I should if it wasn't so different it could be an entirely different weapon! You won't believe it but if that was how Crescent Rose would be then I guess I have much more to learn. Beside she promised me she would give me the blueprint so I can upgrade my baby over here"

Yang flinched internally when Weiss's head shot up straight hearing the last part of Ruby's sentence. "What do you mean with 'over here'?"

Panic grasped her chest Ruby let out a stuttering reply. "I-I'm uh... Over here at Beacon? In the locker? S-stored?" She tried her best to hide the oversized gardening tool under her blanket but the crank jutted out gave away the concealment, not like it worked perfectly to begin with.

All traces of sleep left her body Weiss suddenly jumped up to her feet and climbed toward Ruby's bed, glaring at the redhead as she tried to cover her weapon with her pillow this time only to be caught red handed. "You're unbelievable! What did I say about bringing Crescent Rose to our dorm room?!"

Ruby squeaked in surprise when Weiss yanked the cover away, revealing Crescent Rose compact form under it which she quickly snatched away and held protectively close. "In no circumstances should I bring her with exception of dire ones such as live and death matter!"

"So why do you bring it now? No one is going to die!"

"Disagree, Ruby is going to" Blake chimed in flatly not really paying attention to the partners even when Weiss pulled Crescent Rose down and with that Ruby to the ground. She calmly turned the pages as the duo start fighting over the weapon.

"You don't understand! I made a deal and I need to have her close so I can compare it later!"

"Nonsense, you can do it later in the workshop. What is so important for you to have it now?!"

"Maybe I'm just that excited? stop telling me what to do, Weiss!"

"I'm doing it because you are my partner and it's my responsibility keeping you in a good shape, and beside I don't want to have a giant Scythe resting above me! Life is short and I don't need anything get shorter especially my limbs"

"Wha- Just for you to know I built a lot of fail safe in Crescent Rose so she won't accidentally hurt someone! The only incident we have was that time when Yang unintentionally pressed the wrong button and nearly clipped her head!"

"That is not even comforting to hear!"

At this point they already engaged in push and pull game with Crescent Rose as their object of struggle. The two other occupants barely paid them any mind with Yang slowly dozing off and Blake unwavering attention to her book, they've grown accustomed to with both partners' argument Yang found it almost lulling.

Blake's cat ears twitched when footsteps resonated from their hallway and she looked up to their door expectantly, despite the yell and scream she could clearly hear the sound of boots stopping in their doorway long before the knock.

Yang nodded off sleepily before her eyes slowly fluttered open from the strange sounds. She wiped the drool forming on the corner of her mouth before shifting her attention to the cat Faunus below her with quizzical look on her face when their gazes met. Blake shot her a gesture of confirmation and returned her attention to her book.

The blonde rolled her eyes at her partner's antic, sparing the fighting duo a glance before letting out one very audible scream. "COME IN!"

The door creaked open and a now familiar face peeked inside gingerly to look on the surrounding before a pair of eyebrows shot upward seeing Weiss and Ruby's states. "Am I... Interrupting something?"

Ruby paused mid-motion literally an inch away from licking Weiss's hand while the heiress has her palm pressed against the side of her partner's head in desparate attempt to push her away, she would do anything to free Crescent Rose off Weiss's grips no matter the cost. But when her eyes settled on the woman standing on their doorway Ruby suddenly jolted backward and grinned, accidentally extending her weapon which knocked her partner to the floor in the process. "Oh hey, Rot!" She greeted cheerfully.

Rot stared at Weiss for a second before returning her attention to the Scythe on Ruby's hands. "If I recall Weiss forbade Crescent Rose from entering the dorm room, correct?"

"Uh-huh"

"Then why she's here?"

"Oh you know, I can't wait to see that blueprint you promised so I brought her here to compare later"

Weiss shot up to her feet and glared at the woman. "This is your fault, why am I not surprised?"

The Huntress flinched before pushing herself full to the room, shutting the door close with a click before putting her own version of Crescent Rose against the wall, a motion her younger self silently watch with a hint of childish excitement. "Sorry" She apoligized sheepishly. "So I was wondering... It's a bit late and I don't have extra clothes on me and I haven't found a sleeping place yet maybe I can stay here for tonight? I remember we had-_have_-a spare sleeping mattress in the closet"

Yang's response was immediate, she quickly jumped down and rummaged trough her wardrobe before pulling one of her orange tank top and black sweatpants and a pair of underwears. "Here, I figured you could use mine since our sizes aren't much different" She offered the clothes, giving the woman a once-over. "Go take a shower, I'll wash your Battle Dress"

Rot blinked, staring at the articles of clothing on her hands owlishly before slowly dragging her feet to the bathroom. "Alright..." She mumbled as the door closed behind her.

Meanwhile Blake kept her gaze on her partner amusedly the whole exchange, her book laid abandoned on her bed. "Already on mama hen mode, aren't we?" She teased.

"She _is_ my sister, Blake. It's my responsibility to take care of her" The blonde declared boldly, giving her version of sister a glance only to see the smaller girl already hunched forward giggling to herself as she stared at the weapon leaning near the doorway.

Yang rolled her eyes but a small smile still graced her lips.

**_~Continue~_**

_That... was easy._

She honestly didn't know what to say when she decided to spend the night along with her old teammates but apparently she didn't need much excuses anyway. Ruby knew her sister loved her but she never thought Yang would be this... receieving during her teenage years.

Yang always been the mature one amongst them and that was thanks to her countless time babysitting her little sister, she was forced to grow faster than supposed after their moms left them being a motherly figure she was. Though Ruby would never asked for better sister than her she sometime felt like Yang was pushing herself too far and disregard her own in the process, something she often saw Yang doing to herself.

Ruby wanted her sister to be happy for herself but the blonde apparent selfless atitude prevent her from reaching that happiness sometime. The only thing Yang wants was for Ruby to be happy because that's where her happiness at but to the redhead she would never fully be happy if her sister wouldn't. It's complex really, they cared so much to each other they literally burdened one another.

_But still, Yang was the best sister_ _in the world._

Stepping out of the shower stall she let the humid air caress her exposed skin, walking toward the mirror attached above the bathroom sink. Her eyes lingered on her bare body, fingers tracing the scars marring her form from ones that were years old to the most recent.

Each of them have their own stories and not rarely they are a close call. The one above her chest was from a javelin, the slash on the side of her abdomen was from a crazy swordman she once fought. Smaller cuts she got during her time of abduction were still visible with some more noticable than the other and of all scars those were the ones she hated the most because they reminded her of her failures instead of achievements.

She was conscious with her own body but seeing the state its on directly from a mirror always felt different than just a quick glance or touch. She once had a perfect skin, free of any mismatches and although she never paid it much mind considering her line of work always involves physical harm not once she wished for the scars to go away. Of course she was proud of them but as a woman it almost come as second nature wishing to have flawless body, but again not that she mind it much actually.

Ruby sighed before putting the clothes on, picking up a comb and started combing her long red hair instead. There was no point lingering on the past anyway and she didn't want to get trapped in that endless well of sorrow and guilt again. She had learned her lesson through the hard way and didn't want to repeat it since it's not a pleasant experience drowning herself with the what ifs.

It's been a while since she had the luxury to wash herself in a bathroom least the one with full treatments. She usually took a bath in either rivers or military baracks both respectively had no to little amount of toiletries so to have one civilian used was like a dream come true. She had brushed her teeth, lathered her body and hair in a mass of shampoo and soap and relished every seconds of hot water running down her body to its fullest.

But like any good things it eventually came to an end.

She sighed dejectedly, tracing her fingers to her now smooth strands of hair silently contemplating the right time to cut it. She likes how she seems but long hair was kind of burden when it comes to fighting with how often it usually gets in the way despite it barely reaches her shoulder blades in length but still. Ruby might ask mini-Yang tomorrow to trim it since her sister was the one who usually helped her cutting her hair, she actually capable to do it herself albeit deficiently but compared to what Yang normally did it wasn't as superb.

Smothering the borrowed clothes the Huntress picked her own Battle Dress and put it into a basket, mindful to except her red hood which she then slung on her shoulder before hoisting the dirty set of clothes with the basket outside of the bathroom. She fumbled with the door for a second before pushing it open with her hip when she was sure the knob had clicked unlocked, eyes instantly took on her new surrounding.

For the second time that night her eyebrows shot upward at the scene before her. Previously Ruby didn't expect her past self would be in such... Odd position with Weiss but now their antics were actually kind of anticipated.

To put it lightly.

"What is that on the belly?"

"Seems like a grenade launcher?"

"A grenade launcher? but there is no trigger for it!"

"Well, sorry princess but that's what I thought and beside I said _seems like__"_

"Maybe Ruby has the answer?"

"It's a fire discharger and a cool one at that. I've seen Rot extended it to Katana and it has somekind of power supply to power up the blade!"

"A Katana?"

"Is that all you got from my explanation, Blake? It's so awesome and she promised me both future Crescent Rose and Clipped Rose's blueprints"

"Is that what it's called?"

"I... Think?"

"You think?!"

"Hey it's not my fault I forgot its name when all I think was what kind of functions it has, Weiss!"

The woman grinned in amusement. The four Huntresses-in training were hunkered forward near her weapons seemingly lost in their own little world arguing over Crescent Rose and Cleaver Rose judging from their lack of reaction to her appearance. Her grin turned mischievous when an idea popped up in her head as she stalked quietly forward to the four girls.

She barely capable to keep her voice even when she spoke directly behind them. "It's Cleaver Rose actually"

The team jumped in surprise hearing her voice with her younger self literally clung to Yang who had her fists raised in instinct. Weiss and Blake both were looking at her like she had grown another head but she didn't paid them any mind since she was too busy laughing at the result of her action.

The heiress shot her Faunus friend a meaningful glance and Blake replied with a light shake of her head that only meant one thing.

_I didn't even hear her coming._

"You should look at your faces!" The woman cried out between laugh, barely able to keep the basket of clothes steady in her grips as tears pooled at the corners of her eyes.

"Very funny" Yang rolled her eyes bemusedly before dropping her hands to take the basket instead. "I'll get this to laundry room, I hope you're free tomorrow because you won't be wearing this until the day after"

Her laughter died down to mere chuckle she finally could reply clearly. "Yeah, I have a promise to keep to little Rose here"

The smaller redhead grinned and detached herself from her sister, how could Yang hold the basket and her sister at the same time was a mistery but perhaps she was just that strong or used to it. "I asked Rot to train us and she agreed since she has years of experience dealing with this team, you know?"

"That was so thoughtful of you" Weiss commented dryly, watching Yang taking her leave to laundry room down the floor before returning her attention to her partner. "Though are you sure you're fine with it?" She added to the Huntress.

"Nah it's fine. I'll help you guys as I can and beside I did enjoy kicking your butt so that's a plus" The white haired girl stared at her incredulously but before she could respond she already had her attention diverted toward the sleeping essence in the room, or lack thereof. "Hey where's the mattress I requested?"

"I'll go get it! We got distracted by your weapons and kind of forgot about it"

"You got, we're not" Weiss said flatly to her partner only to get a snort in reply.

The next few minutes were spent with both Rubys setting the mattress down in the middle of the room with the younger barely able to keep her excitement in check, Weiss had to remind her to keep her Semblance off countless time since she always had it accidentally activated and zip around their room. Weiss gave up almost immediately when she realized how futile her attempt was and had resigned herself to watch rose petals floating in the air when Yang suddenly barged in and caught Ruby's cloak effectively stopping her in place.

"Stop it, last time you were this excited you almost split your skull open"

Both Roses flinched at the unpleasant memory. It was a few years back for the little Rose when she accidentally knocked her head to a wall which granted her a deep gash and a few stitches. Her Uncle-which was the reason for her enthusiasm like always-had her confined in their small house for the rest of the week, even he banned her right to tinker with Crescent Rose or anything at that much to her protest.

Since that day Ruby has learned her lesson to not try her Semblance againts a wall or anything sturdier than her Aura, least she wanted to waste what little moments she has with her family.

Two pairs of Silver Eyes bllinked apologetically but they suddenly lit up when they settled on what was resting on the study table, almost simultaneously both redheads perks up. "Is that cookie?!"

"Yep, since I figured my sister love them so much I think you would too" Yang said sarcastically to the Huntress who had taken an initiative to start digesting the treats, followed closely by her smaller version. "I also brought milk"

"Milk!" They exclaimed once again in unison, downing two glasses of the substances in seconds.

Yang scoffed in disbelief to their actions, she hesitated to bring the Huntress one at first but it appeared Ruby hasn't change even after all those years. She kept her gaze to her version of sister, smiling softly when Ruby laughed at her older self who had a moustache of milk above her lips.

The youngest girl snatched a tissue from their table and start cleaning the mess much to the oldest's embarassment but despite it she didn't show any objection. Yang's smile broadened a bit and a glance to her other teammates revealed both Weiss and Blake also have the same thought like her.

They never seen Ruby this happy before, and for Yang it's been so long since her sister was like this.

"Tell us about your teams" The blonde asked suddenly, gaining the Huntress' attention who paused her munching to look at her.

"I thought I've already explained everything to you guys"

"Well, those are the solemn parts. I want you to tell us about everything, every happy and silly moments we've gone together as a team because I know we had a lot of them"

Rot hummed, whether it was in agreement or thought Yang wasn't sure. But when a smile broke on her face she knew the woman accepted her request. "Let's sit down first" She proposed, picking up Crescent Rose future version off the wall and gestured to the floor near her designated sleeping mattress. "Here, form a circle"

They shared a glance when Rot put her weapon down and extended it but otherwise complied albeit reluctantly. Their leader has been following the Huntress like a lost puppy and was standing near her when she unfolded the Scythe, needless to say she had her entire body shook in anticipation when the Huntress detached Cleaver Rose from below Crescent Rose's muzzle and positioned it beside the giant Scythe, blade fully extended and glowing.

"Cool" Ruby whispered, caressing her own weapon absently. "Can it be done to Crescent Rose too?"

"Yep. Power routes were built below the protective plating, each connected to output modules which responsible for casting the energy to the blades and some other plates to increase their durability. However the power usage would be enormous too since Crescent Rose is bigger and require more energy so I rarely use it in engagement other than as psychological purpose"

"Psychological purpose?"

"Intimidation" Rot replied off-handedly, pointing at the now polished surface and blades. "Bigger weapons often cause your enemy to hesitate, and I want to use every ounce of potential it has"

"What is it with you and psychological warfare?" Weiss queried, setting down between Yang and Blake across from both Rubys.

"In a battle it was vital for you to damage your opponent, correct?" They nodded slowly, agreeing with what Rot said. What's the point battling your enemy if not to defeat them? "Well, psychological warfare is arguably one of the most impactful factor in winning a battle. For example you can simply intimidate your enemy by forcing an illusion that scare them so their will to fight back would wilt and die, granting an easy victory"

"So basically you just scare them like that?"

"One of many examples, Yang. Not just the feeling of fear but also anxiety, depression and practically any other negative emotions. In a long term you can cause trauma to the enemy troops, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is the most common mental illness amongst soldiers"

"Is it really that bad?"

The oldest redhead present tilted her head quizically. "Why are you suddenly so interested in psychological warfare?"

"Well, I'm just curious how it actually worked that's all"

"Hm, what about I show you guys tomorrow? I have thought a perfect scenario for your training"

"Where are we going to train by the way?"

Rot smirked. "Why Amity Coliseum of course"

The room went dead silent at her statement, both Blake and Yang stared at the Huntress funnily while Weiss had her jaw almost hitting the floor. Ruby however lit up so suddenly she even drew her attention away from Cleaver Rose to her older self. "No way!"

"Precisely!" Weiss cried out and while her partner said it in a rather joyous disbelief her's more to pure bewilderment. "You can't just use one of the most expensive and famous arena ever built as you please! Professor Ozpin wouldn't agree with this!"

The woman snorted indifferently. "Ozpin can continue sucking caffeine and I won't give a damn. The Arena should have been towed to Vale if I recall and will only take a few minutes flying in Bullhead to reach it from here"

"Why must it be Amity Coliseum?" Ruby asked genuinely confused, she's not complaining of course but using the best Arena in Remnant just to train 4 girls was a bit too much.

"I want you guys to have a feel of your surrounding in real time not just some simulation. The arena has special feature to generate specified environment and I want the setting to work perfectly"

Blake's eyes narrowed in suspicion at her word. "You planned this already, don't you?"

The woman smiled and gave her a lopsided grin in return. "Maybe I do"

Three pairs of eyes rolled in unison while the remaining one shone in awe. Ruby kept her gaze at the woman searching for any hint of dishonest but when she found none she practically threw herself to embrace her future self. "Oh thank you so much! It's one of my dream to set my foot on Amity and fight there!"

Rot blinked hard at the sudden action until reluctantly she patted the younger girl on the head and chuckled awkwardly. "I know, kid"

Ruby beamed and released the woman-much to her relief-and returned her attention to the weapons laid on the floor. She grabbed her version of Crescent Rose and extended it before putting it beside its future doppleganger to compare both Scythes.

"The blades are a bit different, is it the arrangement or overall holder?" Yang pointed out, although not as deep as her sister she still has some understanding about Crescent Rose, she supposed spending her time with Ruby was the cause and judging with how much the younger girl like to ramble about her weapon it was probably correct.

Having recovered from her stunned state the Huntress replied. "I modified the blade holder so it can fit Cleaver Rose. You see I had to find a proper place to attach Cleaver Rose on and after much consideration I settled to put it below Crescent Rose's muzzle since it has the best protection from any possible impact"

"But this thing is made of Atlesian Titanium-A Battleplate! How could an attack inflict a damage to it?" Weiss picked Cleaver Rose off the floor and held it on her grip, mindful with the glowing blade extended forward. She weighed the Katana-slash-Rapid Fire Discharger in her hand to measure how much the protective plating probably covering it.

"Sturdy doesn't mean indestructible, Weiss. I've seen Dust explosions and the catastrophic result they have and it's not pretty. I don't want to accidentally blow my sweetheart apart, one incident is enough thank you very much"

"Wait-what?!"

"What do you mean with one incident?! When that happened and what causing it?!" It was horrifying thought to say the least and Ruby didn't like it one bit. She like to take utmost care to her beloved weapon and the idea of losing it almost as terrible as losing a close relative.

The older Rose scratched the back of her head sheepishly. That incident, yeah, while not a suspenseful tragedy it actually very embarassing and _painful._ "Well, you know... It involved Gravity Rounds, Rapid Fire Discharger, a reckless me, a destroyed concrete wall and a very angry Weiss..."

The heiress concerned look shifted to one of disbelief. Whatever this Ruby had done to pissed her future self must be something _doltish_ and she wanted to know what it was. "Explain" She demanded curtly.

Not once in her life she felt a chill ran down her spine hearing such icy tone from Weiss, it wasn't as strong sensation but still the same cold. "I was doing a usual fire test shortly after completing Cleaver Rose and naturally I want to try it out, instead I found out Gravity Rounds and rapidly firing Crescent Rose are not a good combination. I ended up almost blowing Crescent Rose's firing chamber and barrel from the sheer force an overcharged Gravity Round has, the recoil literally blew me to the wall with enough momentum to shatter it and it did. I dislocated both of my shoulders, fractured my wrists and elbows, and bruised my spine"

The team winced as she listed her injuries. "Damn, that must be hurt" Yang hissed out.

"Tell me about it, you were so shocked when you found out but when the concern wane off you couldn't look at me without laughing your butt on the floor, Blake had to drag you out everytime you made a ruckus and I meant it in literal meaning"

The cat Faunus shot her partner a disapproving glare but Yang merely grinned in return. "Sorry, Blakey. But you mentioned a very angry Weiss, what does that mean?"

Weiss crossed her arms and look at both Rubys who neither have the will to challenge her glare. "Whatever my future self had done, I fully appreciate it"

"Of course you would" The older one muttered under her breath but Weiss could hear her clearly.

"What was that?"

"Nothing! Weiss had to strapped me down hospital bed to prevent me from repairing Crescent Rose, she was in the middle of a meeting when the news I injured myself reached her and needless to say her timing of arrival wasn't good either"

"Let me guess, you're sneaking out only to be caught red handed by Weiss?"

Rot hung her head dejectedly in confirmation to Yang's word. "I was only a few steps away from the exit when she suddenly swung the door open, we startled each other and I fell flat on my back worsening my injuries. She later had someone brought a freaking rope and tied me to the bed, seriously Weiss all I wanted was to fix my baby, my injuries can heal but my weapons' couldn't"

Weiss huffed in annoyance to her statement. After all those years Ruby still the same weapon maniac who put more care to her's than her own well being. It seems she should keep an eye _closer_ to her partner from now on. "And your weapon cannot feel pain while you can. That aside, how would you repair your weapon when your wrists were broken anyway?''

Aura can't heal broken bones instantly like to flesh wound, the best it could do was to quicken the healing process. It probably for the best since if it could the chance of structural malformation after an injury would be sky-high. Nevertheless a Huntsman still has better healing rate than that normal human and it still affects the skeleton level.

"I would figure it out eventually but I needed to see my sweetheart first" It was the very same line she said to her version of Weiss since she never figured out the how to this day. "Since that day I've learned to not put my supply of Gravity Rounds together with other Dust-enhanced ammunition types least I want to redo that incident. I made a lot of new ammunition types including customized rounds specifically designed to fit Crescent Rose"

That caught Ruby's attention. The smaller girl had to ripped her gaze off the weapons to look at Rot. "Where are they?" She asked in an oddly husky tone.

"I always put them on special place, well not so special but more to repurposed place" She gestured toward the ammunition belt hugging the youngest girl present and then to her middle but her amug look turned to one of horrified when she realized one thing she missed. "Oh crap"

"What? what is it?!"

Silver Eyes wide in terror Rot didn't even try to mask her grimace. "I might have left my ammo and supplies in the bathroom, near the shower stall"

There's a brief pause as they looked at her blankly, one time this Huntress could be the most badass Huntress they had ever met and on the other time she was still Ruby Rose, a childish and careless girl albeit older and more experienced but still the same silly girl who could learn things fast and forget them just as quickly.

"You wet them, didn't you?" Yang began slowly, still oddly looking at the woman with a mixture of disbelief and amusement.

"Yes"

"And the inside... Probably something that shouldn't be exposed to water?"

"Correct"

"Supplies?"

"Medical, Liens, Weapon Cleaning Kits and the kind"

"What about the ammo?"

"Unceremoniously dropped near the supply pouches"

In an instant both Rubys already jumped to their feet and tapped on their Semblances rushing toward the bathroom. There were sounds of crashing and yelping followed closely with what could be translated as shrill and frantic chains of exclamations.

"Put it down to the sink!"

"This thing is too big it doesn't fit!"

"Then just extract the ammunitions! Find some spare clothes to dry them with-wait no don't use a hairdryer you can cook off the ammunitions!"

"What?!"

"I said you can-"

There's an explosion and a girlish scream tore through their dorm room. A bullet ricochets out of the small room and zoomed past Blake's cat ears only to explode in a cloud of white mist directly above Ruby's bed and much to their surprise coated it in a layer of ice, the owner of the said bed stumbled outside looking disheveled from head to toe which only worsened when she registered the condition her levitating bed on.

Almost simultaneously they shrieked in horrid realization.

"My bed!"

"My precious Blue Tip!"

"My God this is going to be a long night..."

**_TBC_**

**Good God this is the longest time I took to update a chapter.**

**Sorry guys but I've been very busy lately. In addition to my now thankfully finished exams I have to accompany my grandma to visit her brother-in-law in the hospital back and forth to the next town, not that I'm complaining of course but it was tiring. They said his condition is worsening and we actually planned to pay him another visit tomorrow.**

**Anyway this is kind of short compared to previous chapters but I've learned my lesson to divide a chapter when I find the need to so I did. I'll try to take this slowly once again since I felt like rushing it lately so it probably going to take a while before the actual actions happens.**

**Next chapter will be... Interesting, a lot of boom and clank and foreshadowing (maybe), so stay tuned alright.**

**I officially name this AU as ****_Remnant's Roses AU_**.** If any of you find an interest on it and is planning to write something based of my AU just do it, I wouldn't mind and in case you have question about it feel free to ask and I will answer you as best as I can and as long it's not a spoiler. Also I haven't found any AU named _Remnant's Roses_ but if you do please notifiy me so I can change it to not accidentally commiting a plagiarism.**

**_Responses to reviews_****_:_**

**_merendinoemiliano: _Nah bro. I always believe Silver Eyes power has no toll, remember when Ruby used it against the Apathy in Volume 6? She used it in rapid succession and she actually petrified a giant kaiju-like Grimm that was a Leviathan albeit failed. The only reason she passed out when she accidentally used it against Cinder is because she's not trained to, her body is not prepared but after much training and getting use to she would be able to harnsess her power with no problem.****And about the new action scene against Cinder... I'm afraid we won't be there in yet another more chapters.**

**_ranjira1988:_ ****We all hoping that way, but the question is would things really turn out that way? hm...**

**_Sm0keyPanda: _Welp, if I want to blow my phone then they probably would lol. But it's not something I plan on, really. Sometime things are just too exciting I tend to overdo them, it's sort of out of my control.** **Also I see you're a man of culture as well listening to _Five Finger Death Punch_ hahaha.**

**_raw666_****_:_ None taken, bro. You see I dislike it when a fan fic takes Jaune as the main protagonist and makes him OP. I believe he has potential alright but something illogical and unexplained never sits well with me. I took it upon myself as a challenge when you said his character cannot be developed anymore because I planned to reveal more about future RNJR in the chapter after next.**

**I found the idea of Ruby as the sole survivor clićhe at some degree** **so I altered it a bit. I fully agree with the part of Ruby development as character, she has changed so much in just two volumes and that isn't yet to include the following volumes, there's a reason why she is my favorite character in the show you know? so much potential that is.**

**_ecoolasice: _Sure, mate. Just gimme review when you find something that bother you in this story and I'll try to think about it.**

**_Guest (1): _After days of thinking and contemplating it I finally proud to say... I don't get it. Like seriously what is it?**

**_Guest (Devidogg20):_ Atlas is legitimately Belka lol it's only matter of time until they dropped nukes and invade their neighboring kingdoms. On the more serious note I noticed Atlas uses German language so it would make perfect sense if their callsigns are in Germany which accidentally (or not) also the squadron names in Ace Combat Zero. I have to altered Weiss's since her name literally translated to white in English though.**

**That concluded it, see you guys next time and as always don't forget to review, alright?**

**Take it easy guys!**

**Cipher032 out!**


	12. Chapter 12: Promise and Lesson Given

**_DISCLAIMER: RWBY BELONG TO ROOSTER TEETH AND ITS ORIGINAL CREATOR MONTY OUM (R.I.P)_**

**_Please review and enjoy this chapter._**

**Chapter 12: Promise and Lesson Given**

"...And then she said; now that's a Katana"

For countless time that morning the group broke down to another fit of laughter to her stories.

After last night disaster time went rather quickly and eventful to them, they spent a bit more time to do idle chat and watch some videos from Rot's Scroll about team RWBY future version. Nothing too serious but just trivial day to day and impractical things they done, although few that had great meaning almost got Yang tearing up especially the one involving Ruby and her birthdays. She couldn't believe her sister would eventually grow up to be a fine lady instead of a silly girl she is!

Okay maybe she is still silly but she doesn't want her Rose to bloom yet! Yang wanted to do more fun things with her before she left her one day and that was enough to make her sad much to the Huntress' embarassment.

That was what she said to the team though.

In reality she was saddened by the fact how her little sister celebrated most of her birthdays in some desolated war-stricken places alone with her team. The lack of videos after supposedly her death also served to agitated her even more, Yang know the team was broken after the first loss of their member and the absent of any evidences after their loss was a perfect example of how deep the scar was.

Despite it Rot seems rather nonchalant, almost uncaring even. She would grin and giggle lightly at some point during the video, an action that cause Yang to smile almost unconsciously to herself hearing such sweet tone from the woman. She loved her sister more than anything even her own hair and seeing Ruby happy at something always managed to make her felt content, regardless which version of Ruby it was.

"That was so cool! I mean I would say the same thing if I wasn't you but if I wasn't then Blake probably won't say it in the beginning which also means that never happened..."

Blake shrunk further on her seat when a pair of hardened Silver Eyes blinked between her and her leader blankly. Blake's cheeks were unusually red following the Huntress' statement and she felt extremely hot in the inside from the amount of blood rushing in her veins. She knew what that line was refering to and she doesn't like it one bit.

"You haven't found out yet, have you?"

Ruby blinked back innocently. "Found out what?"

"That line..."

"Why with it?"

"It was from Blake's book Ninjas of Love, it refered to one scene when the main protagonist was having a-"

"So! After her shock to Cleaver Rose did Blake agree to train you?" Weiss cut in almost immediately knowing full well where that conversation drove to. She shot her Faunus friend a glare for letting Ruby touched the filth that was her book at some point in the future which seems partially responsible for robbing her innocence.

Meanwhile the said Faunus did what a person stripped of her dignity would do; staring with empty look somewhere in the floor and rocked her body back and forth in attempt to bring back her crushed soul. Those books were R-rated materials and she should have known better than to left them around her sweet and innocent leader, she hoped Ruby won't start asking her questions about... Her guilty pleasure.

"Yep, though you and Jaune helped me too but it was her who taught me swordmanship. Wielding Katana is a bit different than rapier and sword _sword_, she handed my butt a few time and chewed me for taking a wrong approach but she eventually succeeded to drill the art of Kenjutsu down my thick skull"

"You went all the length to learn swordplay? Man that almost equal with training from scratch to be a Huntress!" Yang exclaimed in disbelief, she straightened her uniform and check herself on the mirror before turning on her heels to stare at the woman when she felt satisfied enough with her appearance. "You need 5 years to learn using a Scythe back on Patch with Qrow, how long did it take to learn using a sword?''

The aforementioned woman shrugged absently, rolling her self-claimed sleeping mattress and stack it on the corner along with a pair of pillows and a blanket on top of it. Last night after accidentally freezing the little Rose's bed they didn't have choice but to share the mattress much to the said little Rose embarassment. At first the young Huntress-in training was reluctant and almost bahsful even but after feeling how comfy her older self's embrace was any objection left her like a dust in a typhoon.

Ruby fell asleep almost immediately when the woman started tracing her hair with her fingers, a gesture she knew she loved since the first day she could remember her mother did it to her. It was easily one of the best sleep she had with no blizzard of nightmare waking her up in the dead of night like usual.

It was weird in a way, to have herself being comforted by her. Both redheads were close nuzzled to one another with the younger burying her face in the older's chest while the older kept her nose deep on the the younger's hair smelling the familiar scent of rose the rest of the night, they didn't aware but three pairs of eyes were watching them until they too finally succumbed to their own need of rest.

The awakening was rather a rude one though. Yang with her usual cloudy sleep induced mind abruptly took off from her bed not remembering there were people sleeping on the floor. Fortunately Rot had already awoken and was staring at the ceiling absently mulling her to do list when the bunk bed creaked slightly followed by Yang dropping down, after the initial surprise she did the first thing her instinct told her.

She pushed Ruby out of the way.

The girl gasped awake and barely registered her condition when two groans of pain resonated in the room. The commotion also disturbed both Weiss and Blake whom jolted upright in their bed when a rather loud thud and slight rumble shook the floor, they didn't expect to see a lot of things when wake up but Rot clutching her stomach in pain with Yang on top of her rubbing her sore forehead was definitely on the list.

"One year, I'm a quick learner, remember? Beside it's not as complicated as Scythe so I passed it rather quickly"

Weiss huffed at the statement, of course what she said was true but it doesn't mean learning how to use sword is easy either. She knew wielding a Scythe also one of the hardest thing to do, once she tried to borrow Crescent Rose from Ruby just to get a feel of it, once too she almost dismembered her own legs.

Needless to say Ruby was reluctant to lend Crescent Rose to stranger since that incident.

"Alright, I'm finished! Let's head to the class now" Ruby declared, throwing her damp bedsheet and blanket to a basket. She just replaced them with a new one since the ice melted and cover both the blanket and bedsheet with water, it's a wonder how could it doesn't drop on Weiss when she was asleep or her side of bed for that matter.

Her teammates responded in a variety of confirmation and one by one they left the room until she was the only one with Rot. The young girl stared at the woman's back nervously trying to find her word to start a conversation she's been waiting to have with the woman now they were alone.

The Huntress sighed and turned around her heels to look at the smaller redhead. "Spill it, kid"

Ruby shuffled on her feet briefly before renewing her resolve. "I want to thanks you for giving those blueprints"

"Uh... You're welcome? You know I would give them anyway, right?"

"Yeah but... Agh! Why this so hard!"

Rot raised her eyebrows at her sudden outburst and crossed her arms expectantly. "That is not what you want to say"

"No"

"Then what is it?"

If previously she was nervous, then now Ruby even more on the edge. "I-I was wondering how long you will stay..." She trailed off, voice turning timid with each word she uttered.

Rot didn't know how long but her schedule already been filled, tomorrow she was going to set off in another mission to bring down Salem but maybe she could squeeze in another day. "I don't know. Maybe I can clear my schedule for tomorrow and then I'll take off to another mission the next day"

"Really? You will do that?"

"I'll let you to decide" Rot leant forward to look at the smaller girl dead in the eyes. "Do you want me to stay?"

"Yes!"

Ruby's reply came in a loud happy shriek and she smiled at her younger self's antic. "Very well then, I'll stay for another day. Now go to your class, kid" The girl was about to dash off when suddenly she added. "And oh would you mind if I borrow your headphones?"

"Nah it's fine, you know where it is right?"

"Yes. One more thing, if any of you are looking for me I would be in the library. Meet me there when you finish your classes and we can begin our training"

"Ditto!"

Ruby watched her younger self fleed out of the room in a burst of rose petals for a moment before grabbing a towel and strode in to the bathroom, she hadn't have the chance to use it since she prioritized the team so they won't late following lectures but now seeing it practically devoid of any presence she took it upon herself to do her morning routines in peace.

Yang let her borrowed some of her clothes again and while yellow and orange weren't her choice of colors she would make due with what she has. One thing Ruby didn't forget was her red hood however and while it kind of odd with yellow she didn't pay it much mind.

The headphones were stored in a drawer near their nightstand exactly where she remembered she used to store it at. It brought back good memories and she found herself smiling a bit when she slid it on around her head and synced it with her Scroll wireless connection. Adjusting the volume to not accidentally destroy her ear drums she let the device lingered for a moment before playing one of her playlists.

**_Ruby's album of awesome:_**

**Owl City- Bird with A Broken Wing**

She hummed to herself when the beat kicked in, taking her leave of the room to the kitchen area to grab some breakfast first.

_So I walk alone down the darkest road cause I've always known how the story goes._

_When the curtain falls I'll be wearing thin clawing at the wall as they're closing in._

She passed by Ren in the hallway who had a plate full of pancakes heading toward JNPR dorm room presumably for Nora. The boy gave her a silent nod of greeting which she returned with a small smile.

_In this twisted plot I was destined for I'm an astronout on the ocean floor._

_So misunderstood 'till the bloody end how I wish I could do it all again._

Ruby arrived on the kitchen area, making a quick work of a sandwich before hastily heading to the library. She munched on the treat and keep on humming to herself ignoring all the stares she got from the students around her.

_It feels like I'm a lone survivor forgotten in a dark and deadly world._

_And on my own I walk alone to see the sun again I'd give anything._

_But life demands a final chapter a story that we all must leave behind._

_It's do or die and this is mine._

_The anthem of a bird with a broken wing._

~**_Continue_**~

Hours passed without Ruby noticing too entranced to the book she currently reading. The headphones now hung loosely around her neck Ruby had burned through her playlists there was nothing left to listen.

It was a few more minutes later she felt another presence approaching her isolated position and Ruby found herself tensing up slightly but didn't make any move until she felt it absolutely necessary. It wasn't until the chair across from her being pulled and a familiar mop of blonde hair greeted her vision she allowed herself to relax.

"Geez I don't know they allows weapons inside school library" Yang plopped down and groaned tiredly to herself, absently playing with her golden locks.

"That because they don't" The Huntress replied as she put Cleaver Rose back to its place on her ammunition belt all the while keeping her eyes straight to her read.

Thankfully after last night's events her ammunition belt could be dried quick enough courtesy of Yang's Semblance though the same cannot be said to her pouches of supplies. Still Ruby was grateful she had a mind to put her boots in a relative far distance from the shower stall otherwise she would have nothing to wear today. The belt was vacant of any ammunition though since she didn't feel the need to bring them with Crescent Rose being absent and beside they hadn't fully dried up yet.

She had learned her lesson to not let any of the girls handle the special ammo so she let them to dry on their own by putting them near their window to let the wind and sunlight washed any stray water left on the cases.

Bullets aren't easily cooked off but her special is that, they are special. The combination of Dusts applied to each of them makes the bullets fragile to sudden change of temperature, probably the only down they have. Fire Dusts are basically essential since all types of bullets uses them for the combustion, and combining it with special tips makes them rather unstable. Ruby still hasn't found a way to stabilize it but she has a theory by changing the combustion matters she wouldn't have the problem anymore but that raised another red flag namely what matters exist capable enough to replace the Fire Dust.

"How long have you been here?"

"How long have you sneaked out?"

Yang narrowed her eyes to the woman infront of her and sighed once again. "I've just out"

"Right"

"I'm serious! I want to talk with you privately about something"

That got Ruby's attention and she shifted her gaze to the blonde, it comes to no surprise to her anymore Yang sneaking out of classes to _get some fresh air_ as she liked to reason. But specifically just to speak with her?

"What is it?" Ruby questioned, genuinely intrigued to what she was about to say.

"There is something that's been bugging me out lately and I want to address it directly to you so I can find my peace about it..." Yang trailed off, averting her gaze to her feet. "Promise me something"

"Promise you what?"

"When this all over and your vendetta against Salem is done... You will keep in touch with the four of us"

_Well that was truly unexpected._

Frankly, Ruby hasn't thought of what she would do after she was finished. Her previous plan to stay low for the rest of her life is out of the window now she didn't know where she would go. Maybe she could stay be a Huntress and protect people like how she dedicated her previously life for or maybe she could fulfill one wish her mother always wanted her to fulfill and that was to live her life to its fullest away from soldiering.

Too much to think she gave Yang the best answer she could. "I'll try my best"

Yang fell silent for a while before she straightened her back to look at her Silver Eyes directly. "Where are you planning to go after all of this?"

Well, that was exactly her previous line of thought.

"I don't know, Yang"

"Then I'll let you know you always have place in this team no matter what. I haven't seen my sister that happy for a long time and I know she looks up to you more than she looks up to me already"

Ruby frowned deeply at her statement. "That's not true"

"That is true and you know it. I'm not mad because of it, in fact it was the exact opposite. You never looked at me more than just older sister, Rubes, and she has seen you almost in the same light as Summer's"

The redhead looked away from her sister younger self. She hadn't been called by that name for a long time and she felt a myriad of emotions swirling inside of her chest. "I'm not mom. I'm not kind like she was, I'm not as strong she she was and I'm not as beautiful. I've got a lot of flaws myself I never feel like half the person mom was"

Yang snorted indifferently. "What do I seem blind and deaf? You Roses always shares the same traits no matter how subtle they are and I can see it clearly mom inherited it to you too"

"Yang..." Ruby whined in response. She didn't like it when her sister addressed her like that she felt detached from her family.

Yang chuckled lightly before her eyes hardened and she returned to her serious mode. "I want to hear you promise me"

"I'm not sure, Yang"

"Just promise me!"

"I... Alright, I promise"

"Promise what?"

"I promise I'll keep in with the four of you"

"Good. You know you should never make a girl a promise if you know you can't keep it"

And with that Yang abruptly left the place, leaving Ruby alone with her thought to deal with. Somehow she felt like she had broken that promise already and she doesn't like it.

Living a life under constant fear of death tends to make people neglects their words and Ruby was an evidence of it. She had created many promises and she too had broken them countless time either unintentionally or deliberately. She should have known better than to make another one considering her past but maybe... Just maybe she can keep this one for theirs' sake.

_No, I **should** keep this one no matter what for their better life._

Her presence is an anomaly to the timeline and who knows how much has been affected by it, any further interference may cause complications but it wouldn't matter much since she definitely has changed things by merely existing in this universe. What matters now was how she would make the positive of it and sharing what she know to her team as a warning was the best way to prepare them of the coming storm.

She shook her head lightly, tucking a strand of hair to the back of her ear and proceeded to read back silently. The library was vacant of most students and only a few of them were present and thankfully none were she know of.

There was a gnawing sense of regret and sorrow that some of them might be a victim during the Fall of Beacon and Ruby bit her lip to ease herself. There was no need to dwell on something that hasn't happened yet and the best she can do is to prevent the tragedy from happening so nobody needs to die.

Maybe she should have gone to Ozpin first time she dropped in this place, but then again would he really trust her if she suddenly blurted out she was from the future? Best case scenario he would believe her, worst would be Glynda kicking her ass out and declared her insane. Her actions were questionable but she acted based on what she thought was the best at moment notice.

_At least_ what she thought was the best.

It didn't take long for Ruby to realize her focus was everywhere but the book infront of her and she found herself groaning softly from the excessive amount of distraction. She had a hope to enjoy some quiet time for herself but instead got her mind filled with so much thoughts she couldn't properly see what before her.

_Like literally, I've been reading the same paragraph over and over again! Gah this is annoying._

With an exaggerated sigh she closed the piece of literature and slid the headphones around her neck back on before fumbling with her Scroll to replay her playlists, at this point she didn't care anymore with the repitition of songs as long she had something to do that didn't involve much of her attention.

**_~Continue~_**

"It was an instinctive action! I swear!"

How did she end up in her current predicament again? All Ruby could remember was she accidentally fallen asleep on her chair and all of sudden she had Yang slammed onto a part of furniture that was her table, pretty hard she might add.

The blonde haired girl grumbled in annoyance as she rubbed her sore cheek and shoulder with her younger sister on her side showing her concern pretty clearly, she should have known better than to startled the Huntress but it's not entirely her fault since the said Huntress didn't respond to their verbal calling for almost five minutes.

"You're overreacting" Weiss deadpanned, directing her statement to both Yang and Ruby's older self. She know it was uncalled for and Yang too has higher pain tolerance than what she showed, it was _actually_ Yang's fault for violently trying to wake her.

Still, Rot's reaction caught her by surprise. She didn't expect the woman to suddenly jolted up, grabbed Yang's outstretched hand and twisted it before she finally slammed the blonde to the table. She managed to catch a glimmer of something feral in the woman's Silver Eyes like she was contemplating an extreme way to eliminate her offender which only faded when she realized who she was holding.

After that her demeanor took a drastic change she almost deflated and reduced herself to a blubbering mess of regret, something Weiss didn't know the hooded woman has in her personality until just now.

The glimpse of dangerous glint in her gaze unsettled her however and she found herself hesitating for their upcoming training, not that Weiss shows it but it was there hidden under her facade of calmness.

"I'm sorry!"

"Stop apologizing, geez. It's not like you did that in purpose anyway"

It's not that painful but Yang's swear she almost had her arm broken from the amount of pressure the Huntress put earlier and she was sure the only thing stopping her was the sudden recognition, otherwise she might get herself hospitalized.

That was the best case scenario because she also caught a glimpse of Cleaver Rose almost being pulled before Rot stop so suddenly.

"But still-"

"Hey, I said stop, alright? My pride already been bruised as it is so no need to remind me"

Blake strode to greet them infront of the library building, she had future version of Crescent Rose kept securely on its magnetic strap by her shoulder while her hands were full with a bunch of empty magazines for Crescent Rose and a box of training bullets.

She was visibly straining from the way she stood but Blake still managed to shot her partner an inquisitive look at her rather unkempt appearance. She didn't know what happened in the library since she had to stay on the outside to watch over the weapon but she got a pretty good idea.

"Who had you kissing the table?" Asked Blake rather amusedly, giving her leader a nod of gratitude as she helped her with the weapon on her shoulder. Despite her smaller frame Ruby didn't show any struggle as she held it on her hands but Blake was thankful for her deceiving strength since Ruby was the one who carried it most of the way.

Yang gestured toward the older redhead who then hung her head dejectedly. "She had"

"It was an accident!"

"We're on a loop here, I said it's fine" Yang paused and a grin broke on her face, seemingly out of place with her still disheveled hair. "Can you teach me how to do it? Might come in handy when Weiss wake me up in the next class" She added to lighten the situation.

Weiss glared at her friend with a look that promise violence if she even dare to try. "Do that to me and I'll make you regret coming to Beacon"

"Woah Weiss chill! Aren't you cool enough?"

The heiress huffed in annoyance, keeping her gaze straight to her partner instead knowing full well the blonde won't deter under her piercing glare.

Ruby handed the woman her weapon back, patting the red metallic surface tenderly before passing it to the Huntress. Weiss couldn't help but to roll her eyes at her actions not necessarily disapproving. She has come to tolerate Ruby and her obsession toward weapons especially her own Weiss couldn't care less anymore.

"It was something that comes along with experience, I guess. Living in the wild where every seconds are valuable got my reflex honed to that extent, I should have known better though" Rot confessed.

"Well, the way you said it, it feels like something you can't control. But still that was cool"

They have arrived on Beacon weapon storage room and the girls quickly moves to gather their respective owns, the Huntress shrugged and sat down on nearest bench as they began to change to their combat attires in provided stalls.

Rot took the excess time to pre-check Crescent Rose of any possible malfunctions and to load the magazines with training bullets. She took a few and put them around her belt specifically ones that were Gravity Rounds for possible future usage. When she was finished with Crescent Rose she shifted her attention toward Cleaver Rose and began her usual preparation by checking its power supply and blade.

It's been a few weeks since she replaced the power unit and she might need to change it anytime soon, perhaps later after this training and beside she also has to show her younger self the procedure to not accidentally blowing her arms off. Dusts are volatile materials afterall.

She attached the discharger to Crescent Rose exactly when the girls were finished changing, eyeing them with calculative gaze before nodding her approval. "Five minutes, not bad for rookies"

"Oh we're counting now?" Yang queried with immaculate grin now her outfit doesn't have wrinkles on it.

A fact that will change soon.

A rueful smile blossomed on Rot's face, the kind that managed to make her grin faltered and replaced with unease. "Yes. Full sprint to landing pads, the last arrive will get her secret revealed"

With that she was gone, leaving the girls to stare at the place where she stood with stupified expressions. The only remaining traces she was there were some rose petals floating about in the air before they too slowly dissolving to nothingness.

"She blackmailed us" Blake deadpanned, bow twitching in annoyance.

"That she did" Weiss agreed offhandedly.

"Should we followed her rule?" Yang began tentatively to gather their attention.

The answer came in unison and a mismatch, two from the monochrome pair and one none other than her sister.

"No"

"No"

"Yes!"

Another blur of red cut in the air and with it was Ruby who sped forward like there was no tomorrow, the remaining trio looked at each other before slowly exhaled their disbelief.

"She ditched us" Once again Blake deadpanned, and once again Weiss agreed with her.

"That she did"

**_~Continue~_**

The massive entrance loomed over them like a mountain but despite it each girls have their own thoughts scattered about it. Ruby stare at it with excitement being her first time stepping into the arena in her short life with Yang having similiar reaction but more reserved, she probably would be that excited too if wasn't for the fact she was the last one to arrive on the landing pad and had one of her most embarassing secrets revealed.

For Weiss it was the second time she visited Amity Coliseum with the first was six years ago when the Vytal Festival was held on Atlas. Back then the one who accompanied her was her grandfather for her father was too busy with business and attendances, she still remembered her own excitement not unlike Ruby the first time she stepped on the arena but now it only saddened her reminiscing the past when her family still upheld the best of their honor and pride.

Blake never paid much mind about the Festival. To be perfectly honest she thought it was pointless, not in practice but more to motto. It's supposed as a monument of peace yet what peace they have when there is still people living under tyrant and opression like the Faunus? The SDC enslaved majority of its Faunus 'employees' and the world turns their blind eyes to them, until the Faunus got their freedom and rights her opinion won't change regarding the said Festival.

They stayed in silence though, wordlessly following the Huntress as they walked through a giant hallway directly leading to the glorious arena. Most lights were out with only the essential ones actually on so they couldn't look at anything other than the hallway they walked on.

"It's kinda creepy" Yang commented, visibly bristling on her stride.

"Stadiums in general tend to have that vibe" Rot stated absentmindedly to the brawler. "Relax, nothing will jump on you... Hopefully"

"Hopefully?!"

"I'm kidding!"

That wasn't funny and the woman know it. She wanted to test the water first before indulging the teenagers with the worst nightmare they probably have encountered in their life and this was a starting point. They didn't know it but the seeds already been planted and it was affecting them already.

_And we haven't even start yet._

"I'll go easy on you guys" She added rather cryptically, confusing the team as they took their positions opposite of the Huntress in the middle of the arena.

They shared an unsure glance toward each other, reluctantly pulling their weapons when the hooded woman start inputing command to the computer responsible for generating Amity's artificial terrain through her Scroll.

"Hey, you haven't told us yet so what is the rule?" Ruby called out, eyes taking on their new surrounding as it suddenly change around them. The first thing she noticed was trees jutting out from the floor errecting high until a forest was created, and then the world dimmed slowly until it's completely pitch black encasing the team in blind and silence.

It didn't stop there however.

A droplet of water hitted her forearm, and then another and another until they are soaked wet under heavy rain. With it a flash of thunder briefly illuminated the area and the first glimpse of their opponent finally revealed.

Rot stood there rigidly, her red hood was pulled atop her head shielding her face from the team. She had Crescent Rose held high with the blade directly above her head, pulsating an eerie glow of red light in an even interval. The four girls looked at her warily from across the battlefield, unconsciously inching closer to each other sensing the danger radiating from her.

At last, she raised her head to stare at them. An action that made them wish she never done.

Her usually vibrant Silver Eyes are dull, devoid of any emotion. The red crimson light radiating from Crescent Rose reflected on the surfaces of her orbs, giving an impression of red on them. They held their breath in anticipation, tightening their grips on their respective weapons preparing for the assault that was surely would come.

An assault that never come.

Instead, she smiled. A twisted smile far from reassuring effect, a smile that seemingly grew from her lack of emotion. "Don't die"

And suddenly the crimson light ceased to be, but the team still looked at the place where it emanating from with a high amount of trepidation. Yang's teeth visibly clattering either from the fear gripping her heart or cold nobody could tell, Weiss's stance was slacking and Blake swore she never held Gambol Shroud so tight before.

Ruby was the only one who kept her cool.

"I freaking don't like it" Yang growled, refering to the show Rot gave them.

"Guys, calm down. Keep it together" Their leader _ordered_ much to their surprise. "Alright, planning. Situational assesment, Blake"

The cat Faunus eyed the place where Rot at for a moment longer, noticing her absence when another flash of thunder illuminated the area. She untied her bow to let her cat ears free, not exactly liking the sensation of damp fabric holding them down. "She had this all planned just like I expected. The scenery is a perfect combination to her advantage, I can't see anything in the dark thanks to these thunders messing my night vision and I can't smell her scent because of the rain"

"Tracking is out of question then. Weather aside what do you guys think based on the scenery and overall situation?"

"Well, we are in a jungle and she was alone. She probably going to use guerrilla warfare against us" Weiss supplied helpfully.

"Right, keep your eyes open to each other. Don't rush forward on your own no matter what but most importantly don't fe-"

Whatever she was about to say never make it to her team.

Ruby felt her hand being yanked by unseen force in high speed, stealing the air out of her lungs she couldn't even scream in surprise. The sudden rush of high G hit her like a truck and she felt her consciousness slowly slipping out of her body until finally she succumbed to the darkness.

The last things she heard and saw were Yang's yell of surprise and horror along with Weiss's frightened face.

"RUBY!" Yang pushed Blake out of the way, dashing toward where she saw her sister suddenly flew into. She had Ember Celica raised and loaded as she burst through the artificial forest foliage, ignoring both Weiss and Blake's calls for her to stop.

It doesn't matter, her sister is gone and while she knew Rot won't harm her she can't tell what else she might do if Ruby wasn't rescued soon.

"Ruby where are you?!" She called out once again futilely. The rain was too heavy and the constant rumbling from the thunders eliminated any form of sound, she actually couldn't look at anything but it was something Yang can fix unlike other problems she currently has.

A billow of steam rose up from her slowly heating hair as a steady flicker of fire build up, her once lilac eyes turned scarlet as Yang frantically assessed her now relatively lit surrounding. She jogged forward to the scenery with a determined face and weapons ready.

She would find her sister no matter what, but unbeknownst to her it was her other sister who would find her first.

Meanwhile the two abandoned members of team RWBY were slowly tracking the muddy ground with Blake leading the way and Weiss complaining _all the way_. "I can't believe this!" She hissed rather loudly.

Her partner was gone which also their leader and it's not 10 minutes yet since they began, the strongest member of their team ditched them and her high heels won't stop getting stuck on the boggy ground she had to yanked them free everytime she walk.

Blake waited the heiress patiently albeit also amusedly, she had to agree with Ruby about Weiss's choice of footing. "You okay there?" She asked in mirthful tone.

Weiss glared at the Faunus, she was far from okay. In addition to her now dirty heels her clothes were also damp from the constant assault of water washing over them. Her hair was unkempt, she felt cold, the kind of cold that wasn't Yang's pun about her and she had to strain her eyes to keep track with Blake. Overall she felt miserable. "No"

"Thought so..." The ravenette muttered to herself, lending her friend a hand to climb a rather large boulder. Weiss squeezed her clothes trying to at least lessened the wetness with no avail. "Yang was going that way, I think I saw a flicker of light but I'm not sure" Said Blake pointing toward a specific direction not that Weiss could see it.

"That reckless idiot... Don't she aware it was exactly what Rot wanted her to do? Speeding out like that to an obvious trap"

"More reason to find her quickly then" Blake agreed.

This whole training thing was a disaster from the beginning. They have zero chance to win and the Huntress knew it. Blake was right, their opponent has the highest advantage over them from the field experience to more intimate part that was their team.

Yang's a hot-headed girl who often act before thinking and Rot knew it to the core, she exploited that one weakness of Yang at its best by using the most precious someone Yang has as a bait for her ingenious plan.

But still that was a smart move, Blake gave her that much albeit questionable in moral but since when a battle is fair anyway.

"Are you certain we are heading toward the right direction?"

"We don't have much choice, do we?"

"Fair enough"

They kept on silently, the arena itself is quite grand although obviously not as big as a real forest. The lack of light plays a big role in rendering their incapabability to understand their surrounding and while Weiss was thankful to the constant flashes of artificial lightnings illuminating the area Blake wasn't so much. The thunder messed with her sensitive hearing she felt her extra pair of ears flattened against her skull everytime it exploded in the air and her sharp eyes didn't do much other than hurting her brain with headache.

Blake was used to it however, but it doesn't mean she like it.

As the duo continued trekking their path, a pair of Silver Eyes watched them through an Infrared display of a High-Impact Sniper Scythe from below a bush. A wicked grin grew on the assailant's face as she inserted another training round to her weapon, finger rubbing the trigger in twisted excitement. They walked right to where she wanted them and the best part of it was they didn't aware.

The Huntress began another hunt.

**_~Continue~_**

Ruby felt like dying.

Her dominant hand was hurt, her head feels like someone had poured a jelly to replace her brain and her body won't stop shaking as she pushed hersef off the ground.

She pressed a hand - her good hand- against a tree, leaning for a moment to catch her shallow breath. Blinking rapidly to stop her vision from spinning like a rogue fan, Ruby let out one deep exhale before straightening herself.

Crescent Rose is gone, nowhere to be found. She didn't let the panic to take over and instead forced herself to assess her surrounding and situation. She was somewhere in the arena, presumably not too far from their initial position judging from the amount of trees around her, or maybe the trees were just that dense covering all part of the place.

She groaned in a mixture of pain and distress. Her team, she has to find them first. Yang probably worried beyond all reason and who knows what kind of hole they dug themselves into already. Blake can hold herself pretty good but Weiss isn't really fit in a rural area, she would seriously start addressing the issue that was her choice of attires more seriously later.

Ruby checked on her surrounding once again, making sure she didn't miss anything using the flashes of lightnings as her source of light. She don't want to start running around unarmed only to be told Crescent Rose was directly on her side the whole time.

Unfortunately that wasn't the case either.

_She knows I can't fight without my weapon_ _so she took Crescent Rose away._

For the first time in her life, she really hoped she paid more attention during her spar with Yang.

Ruby sighed dejectedly and start venturing the darkness, one arm hung limply while the other extended forward to literally feel her surrounding. The cold start to penetrated her bones and she shivered lightly both from the anxiety running in her veins and the lack of warm. Still, she pushed forward with a determined look on her face, ignoring the pain and discomfort she felt.

Her team needs her, and she would do whatever it takes to fulfill her responsibility as a team leader.

**_~Continue~_**

"Something isn't right" Blake began tentatively, biting her thumb to ease herself.

"Her Aura is depleted, I think she's gone unconscious for a long period of time"

"This is another trap, an obvious one too"

Both Weiss and Blake kneeled under the cover of bushes near a clearing. They were staring at a certain spot where one particular blonde were laying on her stomach unmoving, there were some visible damages from a battle adorning the area around Yang mainly from Ember Celica missed fire.

"Should we do something?" Weiss asked the ravenette with no small amount of concern. Yang never went down easily but she did and without much fight no less, maybe they'll have better chance since there are two of them but she doesn't want to test that chance against a full fledged Huntress.

_And a war veteran at that._

"I've got a plan" Blake declared after a moment of silence. "I'll use my Semblance to lure Rot and we can use her own strategy against her"

"We'll set up an ambush?"

"That's our best chance, we catch her by surprise and if we're lucky we can incapacitate her. She is utilizing guerrilla warfare and the longer it drags on the possibility of us being eliminated one by one is bigger"

"What about Yang? She might get caught in the crossfire!"

Blake grimaced, Yang was there so helpless on her own. Gambling her life is one thing but other's... She wasn't that keen. This is just a training for sure but Blake felt like it was a serious one, this whole sceneario is very plausible to happen in the future and she has to take it realisticly.

"I can summon another clone to bring her to safety"

"That sounds okay" Weiss nodded in agreement, checking Myrtenaster's revolving chamber before snapping it close when she felt satisfied enough with what she saw. "Ready when you are"

"Okay" As soon as the word left her mouth an exact copy of Blake stood beside her, she gave her doppleganger a silent command but as it about to move out a bullet shot out through the air seemingly from nowhere and hit both Blakes.

The clone one simply dispelled into thin air leaving nothing but a cloud of black smoke, but the real Blake had her face hitted with a high caliber round she flew a good one meter backward with enough power to drain her Aura reserve.

Weiss watched it all unfold clearly despite the darkness, her face was frozen to one of shock and horror fearing Blake might got herself killed. She knew what hitted Blake but the last time she checked Crescent Rose didn't pack that much of punch. Her sense came back seconds later she jumped forward and grab Blake by her colar before dragging her behind a tree.

Thankfully Blake is still alive but there's a prominent bruise on her left cheek exactly below her eye. The amount of momentum the bullet carried was enough to make her faint either from the pain or shock Weiss couldn't tell.

"Blake! Blake can you hear me?!" Weiss shook the Faunus frantically in desparate attempt to garner her consciousness back but all she got as return was a mere whimper.

_This is not good, this is not good at all!_

A branch snapped from behind her and Weiss tensed up. Gripping Myrtenaster in her trembling hands, she jumped on her feet and swiftly turn around, rapier burning red at the tip as she blindly thrusted a flaming attack forward.

As expected, it hitted nothing but a tree which she accidentally set ablaze.

Her calm demeanor shattered Weiss began to hyperventilate under the stress, she backpedalled on her heels, visibly disturbed and was planning to throw everything out of the window and just bolt away with Blake when a pair of hands grabbed her shoulders from behind and a menacing voice spoke to her.

"Where are you going, princess? Play time isn't over yet"

**_~Previously~_**

Frankly, Ruby felt sorry for her former team.

She set down her younger self gently against a tree, pulling and tracing her hands around the socket of the smaller girl's left arm to determine any injury she might accidentally inflict when she took her away.

Should she yank her like that? No. But they have to learn their lesson through the hard way so they would be less likely to forget them in the future.

You don't turn your eyes away from the enemy even though you can't see them yet they did, you don't lax your guard just because you're surrounded by your allies yet they did. The fact they didn't even have the mind to find a proper place for planning was a promise for disaster. She knew it was a bit harsh training them this way but as one would say; no plans survive initial contact with the enemy.

They must learn to adapt and overcome any struggle they might face.

Satisfied enough with the result of her probbing, Ruby shifted the girl so she could reach her other hand where past version of Crescent Rose rests. With one swift motion she quickly folded it to its compact form and attached the weapon to her back, muttering a quick apology to her younger self before dashing away to intercept a certain someone.

Despite herself, she won't abandon nor put Crescent Rose anywhere away regardless which version.

Her rush came to a halt behind a tree, positioning her sweetheart to her shoulder on its Sniper form she peered through its scope Infrared display and scanned her surrounding before promptly shifting to Thermal.

There are _a lot_ of things she doesn't reveal the team about her weapons, one of the reasons why she neutralized little Rose first was because she probably the only one who has full knowledge of Crescent Rose specs thanks to the blueprints she provided her, and judging from the grin the girl had last night when she gave the said blueprints she definitely has.

The scope is a specialized non-reflective material made of mixture of glass and plastic so it won't easily cracked, it supports both Thermal and Infrared Display in addition to its normal vision. It also has built-in rangefinder and wind determiner sensors, all which powered by Cleaver Rose. Of course that also mean it has traditional crosshairs in case Cleaver Rose is out of commissions but that doesn't mean it was any less lethal.

Cleaver Rose plays a big role in improvising Crescent Rose because her main weapon won't be the half it is without it. Almost all components works because of Cleaver Rose's presence and that including all of the modifications.

Hyper-Extreme Anti Obstacle Mode or H-EAOM, is when Cleaver Rose channeled a current through many wiring inside Crescent Rose barrel, generating a temporary magnetic overcharge to boost the bullet speed and momentum it literally turned the Sniper to a Railgun but a combination of both.

Bayonet Mode has Cleaver Rose's blade extended below the muzzle while in Sniper form in case of sudden attack or close-quarter-combat where it was impossible to to draw either Crescent Rose or Cleaver Rose fast.

Dual Wield Mode, probably the most simple modification amongst other, is done by separating Crescent Rose right below its trigger to two, resulting with its lower spear to be a stand-alone weapon while Crescent Rose blade holder would extend forward almost like a giant sickle.

Ruby once thought to put silencer to her weapon but dismissed the idea pretty quickly, it's not like a silencer would do much job in silencing the sound her weapon produces since its main function is to eliminate muzzle flash despite popular belief. Beside it would also make Crescent Rose seems fat and she doesn't want her to be too bulky than she already is.

Overall she hasn't yet found a proper way to conceal the booming of her weapon but as she carefully lined her shot to a familiar and literally hot blonde haired girl she couldn't care less, beside it was part of her plan to lure Yang by using Crescent Rose's bark and while the rain and thunder eliminated the sound from reaching further vicinity Yang would definitely hear it.

Ruby took a deep breath and released it slowly, watching Yang's prominent wave of fire through her scope Thermal HUD before ever so gently squeezing the trigger when another thunder struck the artificial environment.

She felt the familiar recoil kicked back and to say it wasn't satisfying would be a lie, she missed the feeling so bad she couldn't be any happier right now. Alas, Ruby didn't have much time to enjoy the sensation before she had to dash once again to the deep of the artificial forest with Yang following suit.

Once again, Ruby blend in under the shadow. Eyeing her prey with precision as Yang rolled forward to a clearing, a place where she exactly want her to be at.

"Where is my sister?!" Yang screamed amidst the thunders, bringing Ember Celica up to an imposing position. She glared around her to the place she certain the most where she got shot from albeit blindly. It was a glancing blow Yang managed to block the bullet with Ember Celica armored plating but it's exactly what the Huntress intended it to be.

Ruby's sadistic smile shifted to one more genuine and soft, despite her own Yang still put her sister above anything and that was just sweet. But she quickly dismissed the expression before springing Crescent Rose to its Scythe form and set Cleaver Rose power supply to a continous short burst so the radiant energy flowing in her Scythe resembled a throb light.

She tapped on her Semblance and zipped around the area, appearing and disappearing almost magically on the treeline surrounding Yang. A quick dash to there, a side step to here and occasional quick halt created an illusion of ghostly image of Crimson Reaper and to say it's unnerving would be an understatement.

A seed of hesitation grew in her chest as Yang silently watched the light show, it was beautiful and graceful she found it fascinating. If it wasn't for the whole situation she would be content to watch it unfold but as her opponent getting closer and closer she was reminded where she currently at.

Yang raised her arms and with them are Ember Celica, she spread her legs in a fighting stance to brace against the upcoming impact and mentally steeled herself. If the Huntress want to try her head-on then she would humor her, nobody ever win fighting Yang Xiao-Long head-to-head before.

Retracting her arm in a preparation to punch she waited and waited until finally when Rot got close enough she released her attack in full force while firing Ember Celica at the same time, promising a devastasting damage should it hit her opponent.

But the training rounds hit nothing except thin air, it lazily flew through the atmosphere until it stopped by a big tree, marking it with permanent black mark. Yang blinked in surprise before frantically looking around the area only to see her opponent doing the exact thing she previously did by zigzaging to her position only this time from different direction.

The red glow kept on blinking rapidly it unsettled Yang, she brought both her weapons up and fired two rounds to the approaching figure only to get the same result as before. This time instead of disappearing from the direction she came from Rot continued to zoomed forward seemingly unfazed by the explosions around her.

Yang began to rapidly fire Ember Celica while backing away from her assailant, she thrusted another punch to Rot only to have her vanished once again. Her Semblance still provides enough lightning she managed to caught a glint of blade heading her way and dodged it before it could do any damage.

Yang rolled to her feet before springing forward to the place where the attack came from, she launched a middle swept to her opponent with her right foot but had her left knocked instead from below her. She gasped in surprise before correcting her fall with her hands and pushed herself off to her feet.

There infront of her was the Huntress in red hood she has come to associate, still wearing the same stoic expression under the said hood.

"Where is Ruby?!" Yang demanded hotly, while the Huntress' eyes bleed red from mere trick of light her's were honest.

"I'm here" Rot replied with a flicker of amusement in her face before it disappeared. "Don't worry, she's safe"

Yang narrowed her eyes suspiciously, eyeing the red metallic surface of Crescent Rose on the Huntress' hands then to the one on her back. "She would never give her weapon like that"

"Safe doesn't mean she's conscious, I knocked her out cold but she's fine"

"You did what?!" The blonde exclaimed in horror, her mind almost run wild before she reminded herself this wasn't a real forest they are on.

"She's safe, Yang" Rot fixed her grip on Crescent Rose and posed her own stance. "Now can we just start already?"

Before she could answer the woman already shot forward to her position with her weapon raised and ready to slash her. The lack of light emitting from Crescent Rose gave away an idea she didn't activate its special feature and Yang found it rather comforting, she doesn't know the full potential of her opponent's weapon and she would be damned if she rush forward blindly not knowing a thing.

Yang jumped back when the blade cut in the place where she stood on before using Ember Celica to propel herself forward to meet Rot, she raised her fist and strike forward only to have her strike blocked by the shaft of Crescent Rose. Almost in lightning speed the woman already shifted the giant Scythe between her grip so the blade pointed directly to Yang and pulled it, hooking the brawler in place as she twisted around and launched the younger girl away.

Her Aura protected her and her Semblance only add to fuel her power even more but that doesn't mean the impact any less hurt as Yang hitted a tree with her back. She groaned in pain and wheezed lightly, glaring toward the Huntress as she twirled the large Scythe in quick show of victory.

"Your Semblance might grant you a robustness but it will eventually run off, Yang" Rot informed her flatly, digging the pointed end below Crescent Rose to the ground. "You must learn to not rely so much to it, try different approach instead of head-butting your enemy. One day you'll meet someone as stubborn as you are or more"

Yang growled before slowly pushing herself off the ground, she knew Ruby is good wielding Crescent Rose but that move she just pulled was entirely on different level, simple yet speak experience. "Easy for you to say when you have range advantage"

"Your excuse isn't exactly on point, there is no fairness in a battle. But I'll go easy on you, what about a bit more trying and then we can try hand-to-hand combat, that's your area of expertise, right? You can keep Ember Celica too if you feel like it"

"Deal"

They both took on their stances this time Yang bent lower to strengthen her own. She carefully eyed the Huntress, noticing how she held Crescent Rose infront of her with a finger near its trigger. She knew what it meant, Rot would try to line her shot when she rush forward again like previously and the sheer firepower would surely knock her out cold from this range.

_Different approach then_.

Cocking Ember Celica, Yang once again propelled herself forward to her opponent and as expected she had Crescent Rose's muzzle pointed to her direction almost in a flash. Yang smirked to herself as she shifted her trejactory mid-flight using her weapons recoil and instead of going straight she pushed her body to soar high above where she originally flew to.

Another booming sounds echoed as she fired Ember Celica once again to drop punch the Huntress but much to her surprise her target already gone in a flash of white explosion courtesy of Crescent Rose's muzzle. Yang began to frantically looked around only to receieve a face full of combat boot.

"Neat but predictable, I used the same technique too you know"

_So she used Crescent Rose's recoil to push herself out of the way. It was just a bait, she never intending to shoot at me!_

"I hate you" Yang muttered not exactly half-heartedly. It's impossible to hit someone who has speed quick enough to rival the wind in a cyclone and what she pack in power and endurance Yang was lacking in speed. She's not as fast as Ruby or Weiss and she's not as nimble and versatile as Blake but she can take more damage and has the greatest damage output.

"Well at least you take a different approach so that's a start" Rot folded Crescent Rose to its compact form before putting it down near her legs, she flexed her fists and arms before gesturing toward a dumbstruck Yang. "C'mon we'll do that CQC"

"Are you... serious?"

"Do I look like joking?"

"As a matter of fact, yes"

The woman scoffed rather indignantly. "This is not a trap if that's what you're thinking"

Yang narrowed her eyes in suspicion, if her opponent wanted to she could have her defeated in no time yet here she was offering a chance for her to win. It's not exactly her fault for doubting the sincerity of the said offer.

She reluctantly stepped forward, rocking her arms to load another round to Ember Celica. Her gaze ventured down to Crescent Rose for a second before she forced her focus back to the Huntress.

"Ready?" Rot asked her and she nodded in return, not exactly having enought time to give a verbal affirmation because of the sudden punch the woman threw her way.

Yang ducked low, letting the fist sail above her before launching her own punch to Rot's midsection. She merely stepping aside to avoid her attack before grabbing Yang's still extended hand by her forearm and kicked the younger girl on the side of her head, dazzling her.

The blonde quickly recover from her state after staggering back a few steps, throwing herself forward to catch up with the assault she receieved. She sent a fit of jabs which Rot either dodged or deflected, and finished the move with a roundhouse kick which the woman barely able to parry.

Yang smirked behind her burning bangs of hair, with a yell of battle-cry she sent an Ember Celica-infused uppercut to the woman's jaw, feeling a grim satisfaction when the impact rattled her bones.

Rot was sent flying for a good few metres until she came to halt near a tree, laying on her stomach. Her Aura protected her from the worst of Yang's attack but it gave her a rather big headache as she pushed herself to her feet. "Not bad" She commented, rubbing her sore jaw.

"I'm a close quarter combatant for reasons" Yang replied almost nonchalantly, flicking her blazing hair it gave an illusion of dancing flame.

"We just began, now the real show is just started"

Without warning Rot shot forward like a bullet, her red cloak fluttering wildly behind her with a trail of rose petals following her. She shifted her position so her legs were forward in a flying kick.

Yang raised her arms and blocked it, skidding on her ground but she managed to keep her stance. Another blur of red filled her vision as a fist found its mark on her cheek, another one was coming but Yang saw it pretty clearly she managed to let it grazed her other cheek instead.

The appeandage, instead of retreating back, found its purchase to the back of her neck and locked her in place, Yang had her legs kicked below her and she vaguely aware with a hand on her back before she suddenly being slammed to the ground hard.

Ruby blinked once, twice and thrice as she looked at the downed form of her sister's younger self. She's pretty sure she didn't put _that_ much of force on her attack but there was Yang on the ground and apparently unconscious.

_Or maybe I did?_

She kneeled down, turning Yang around for any sign of injury. Ruby still has her guard up in case Yang was tricking her but the blonde didn't even budge when she patted her cheeks lightly.

_Yep, definitely out cold._

With a grunt Ruby lifted the brawler off the ground and hoisted her between her arms, she looked around the area but couldn't make out anything due to the lack of light, she could make out Crescent Rose's silhouette on the forest floor however and she made her way to it.

Putting Yang on the ground to her belly Ruby then transformed Crescent Rose to its Sniper form and once again scanned the area through its scope infared display for a plausible vantage point, she had a rather slope ground a few hundred metres from where she was that offered an overwatch position and after checking on Yang for the second time she tapped on her Semblance and sped up to her new designation.

She arrived in a few seconds short with Crescent Rose still on her Sniper form, setting herself down on the ground under a bush with only her weapon's barrel jutting out she fed another round to Crescent Rose's firing chamber.

One of her hands was propped below the weapon to support it since Crescent Rose doesn't have any bipod to keep it steady when firing in prone position, it's not something she hadn't thought of but there was no more place to place additional attachment she has to make due.

Ruby knew it's wrong to let her weapon visible even though just its barrel, nobody with the right mind would let their Sniper Rifle out of their concealment but she had no other choice and beside this way she would have greater periphery.

She waited then, keeping her eyes forward while constantly shifting from Infrared to Thermal Display trying to find her next prey. This moment is the most frequent she faced as a Sniper and while the young her probably would get bored out of her mind she found it rather calming. She would have time to gather her thoughts and to plan her next move and in rarer circumstances create a contingency in case things went south.

But it's not something she needs right now since she has everything under her control, she literally had her old team on her fingers, a thought that crossed Ruby's mind as a wicked smile grew on her face when two familiar faces greeted her enhanced vision.

Blake and Weiss.

Oh she would love to mess up with Weiss alright, she was quite a pain in the ass back on her time and she still remember the way Weiss kicked her butt. Considered it as a revenge for her attitude and while she loved her friends and partner like she loved her own sister and family she couldn't help but feel like this twisted opportunity was partially for this exact moment.

Still, patience is the key and she has plenty of it.

The duo were chatting to themselves as they came to halt finally noticing Yang on the ground, they moved to cover behind a bush and Ruby smiled briefly at the action. At least they have the tendency to find some form of concealment no matter how pointless it was against her.

Thanks to the Thermal configuration she could make out both Blake and Weiss's heat signatures pretty clearly amidst the world otherwise dull color, she grinned widely when she activated H-EAO Mode of Crescent Rose, feeling a wave of excitement rushed in her veins when her weapon began to hum.

_Purr, sweetie._

Blake stood up and a ghostly heat signature floated near her and Ruby recognized what it was, Blake's shadow clones despite not real still held a pretty good resemblance with her and it also includes body heat. But this one seems less solid than the Blake's from her time and Ruby supposed it was something Blake hasn't fully mastered yet.

She directed her shot, waiting until both Blakes stood in one linear path before she squeezed the trigger. The recoil was much more powerful and there was a distant sound of electricity following the bang yet Ruby kept her scope steady, flinching internally when she saw the bullet hitted Blake directly on her face and sent her flying.

Priority target is down.

Blake could be a trouble if she was to keep in action so Ruby decided to incapacitated her first, Weiss was more easier to manage since she doesn't have the exact experience and special abilities like Blake to see and blend in the shadow.

Weiss stayed still in shock for a moment before she sprung forward and dragged Blake to somewhere behind a tree out of her reach but it didn't bother her at all. Ruby shifted Crescent Rose to its compact form and attach it to the secondary attachment on her belt before dashing forward toward Weiss.

She rarely use her belt to fastened Crescent Rose on but since the magnetic strap on her back already occupied she didn't have much choice but to improvise, it's a bit uncomfortable and limiting her movement too much for her liking.

Again, she didn't have much choice anyway.

Ruby stepped hard on a branch, intentionally snapping it loudly before sprinting around Weiss's position. She saw the white haired girl jumped up from the sudden sound with Myrtenaster burning tip extended forward toward where Ruby at a few seconds ago, soon a huge fireball exploded and ignited a tree.

Her partner younger self was shaking and visibly in distress, something that caught Ruby's utmost attention. She grimaced slightly seeing their state upclose and momentarily regret her actions before she dismissed it just as quick, they'll live and who knows perhaps after this whole training thing they would learn a lesson or two and help them survive in case something similiar happen in the future.

Ruby forced her focus back at the task at hand, quietly yet quickly walking forward to the heiress until when she was close enough she laid her hands on the younger girl's shoulders, grabbing them firmly to give Weiss a message she won't be going anywhere, a message she understood pretty clearly judging from the way she tensed up and went rigid.

"Where are you going princess? Play time isn't over yet"

Weiss gripped Myrtenaster's hilt stronger until her knuckles turned white under the stress, it's not just her knuckles however almost all of her body turned white-r from the lack of blood rushing in them due to nerve. She doesn't know what to do, she had her opponent directly behind her not an arm away both literally and figuratively from incapacitating her. The distance made it impossible for her to use Myrtenaster properly and while a quick trick can grant her space the woman coud just move a finger and she would be out cold in matter of second.

She wish she could burst into rose petals like Ruby.

_Ruby..._

Her partner was probably the only one available right now, she had checked her team Aura reserves status only to be pleasantly surprised Ruby's still held somewhere between 80 percent. Yang's already dropped to below 20 percent only a shy away from 10 and Weiss was pretty sure Blake's not somewhere good right now.

Hopefully Ruby saw the obvious burning tree before her as a signal of distress and already on her way or if else Weiss was already eliminated and has no chance to survive this encounter.

She just needs to buy more time, and Weiss know how to do it the right way.

"Are you trying to kill us?!" She snapped, surprising the Huntress a bit before her face hardened.

"No I'm not, but your enemy is"

"You said it that way but you have Ruby somewhere presumably hurt, Yang got her Aura almost depleted and Blake nearly lost her eye. All of it was a courtesy of you!"

"Wait- Blake what?!"

"Your shot barely missed her left eye, you dunce!"

A look of horror passed her face as she glanced toward the motionless ravenette worriedly, she had no intention to shot at Blake's eyes or any fragile part of her body especially with such level of power. "But she's fine, right? Nothing permanently hurt?"

Weiss scoffed and almost crossed her arms indignantly only to have the hands on her shoulders tightened significantly. Looks like despite her outer appearance the Huntress still has situational awareness within her. "Nothing Aura can't heal"

"Oh thank God..." She muttered in relief and just like that she dismissed the subject and returned her attention toward Weiss, smirking evilly when the girl squirmed under her intense gaze. "What should I do about you though"

"W-well for starter not knocking me out?"

"Hm, I'm usually that generous to my _victims_" Weiss breathed out feeling reassurance from those words but it quickly gone when the Huntress continued on. "But I still remember the way you froze me during our last spar so I was thinking maybe I could return the favor this time since I didn't exactly have the opprtunity?"

Weiss began to trembled once again as she voiced her next question in mere whisper. "What would you do to me?"

"We would have some fun, you and me alone like how we usually are" Rot whispered back on her ear, sending a wave of goosebumps to travel down her body like a cold water. That was the last straw for Weiss and she yanked herself free before swiftly turning around with Myrtenaster pointed to where Rot at.

Many things happened at once, her blade met its destination only for the said destination to burst into rose petals, the next thing Weiss knew she was being assaulted from all direction relentlessly by unseen force.

Her rapier grazed something metallic, sending a torrent of sparks to explode before her. She closed her eyes momentarily to not accidentally blind herself but it was proven to be a bad move when a rather hard object hitted the side of her head, dazzling her before a kick found its purchase on her chest.

She gasped from both pain and the sudden lack of oxygen, rolling to her back as she laid on the ground wheezing and clutching her chest. Myrtenaster was on her side but before she could retrieve her fallen weapon a boot kicked it away from her reach.

Weiss groaned when something heavy was placed on her arms keeping them spread on her sides, leaving her completely exposed and vulnerable. She looked up only to see Rot straddling her with her legs but what caught her attention the most was the glint of Crescent Rose's barrel directly pointed to her face.

"No please... I can't take it upclose" She whimpered, trying to pry her arms free to no avail. She looked up pleadingly but all she got in return was a face devoid of any emotion. "Please anything but a shot in the head"

"You should learn to tolerate the pain and wound" Rot replied coldly, finger slowly curling on the trigger as she continued to train her weapon to Weiss.

Sensing the danger coming Weiss's instinct went overdrive telling her body to do anything in sake of self-preservation, she summoned a glyph on her hands only to have the legs holding her down increased in pressure prompting her to cried out in pain.

The message was clear; don't even try a thing.

Despite her situation Weiss could still manage to glare heatedly to her captor, giving her infamous Schnee glare as Yang likes to called it at its highest intensity. Internally however she has resigned herself to her fate and was silently praying for quick execution rather than to have her Aura bounced the bullet and ended up hurting her more. Afterall Aura was meant to prevent and protect its owner from Injury not pain, and sometime the pain still too unbearable to tolerate.

Of all Team RWBY, Weiss was the one with lowest pain tolerance but that doesn't mean she was a fragile porcelain doll, she can bite and get bitten in return. Although she must admit living with such luxury and protection her family granted her made her rarely getting any injury and thus she hasn't gotten used to it. The fact is slowly changing with her entering Beacon and later being a part of Team RWBY, a team which its definition of _unwinding time_ is beating bad guys and call it a day, she has gotten more injuries than her last 2 years of being an Academy student back in Atlas.

To justified her however the other members of her team have higher tolerance was either because Semblance or experience. Yang for example _relish_ each hit she receieved because of her Semblance allows higher output power than what she receieves, thus she must learn to at least ignore any physical harm she got.

Blake and Ruby were more to experience, Blake had to undergo a lot of bad things in her life and spending majority of it with fighting tended to give that effect to people while Ruby was more to none other than Yang's endless affection to use excessive amount of power in even during the most trivial of endeavor.

Weiss had seen how the sisters spar and to say it was horrifying would be an understatement. She almost jumped out of her seat everytime Crescent Rose gets too close for comfort or when Yang discharges a point-blank shot of Ember Celica to Ruby. Blake too had similiar reactions during the first few days their team was formed but after a while she gradually lost her interest and just shrug it of as another day in the training ground.

Ruby would just laughed it off with dirt smeared face when they finished sparing, saying she was lucky she had to keep Crescent Rose otherwise the result would be worse. Weiss decided she doesn't want to know her definition of worse.

The shot rang and Weiss closed her eyes tightly in desperate attempt to dull the pain not that matter much at this range, however when she felt the pressure on her arms vanished and a sudden gust of wind and rose scent filled the air she promptly open her blue eyes and gingerly look around.

Only to be greeted with a pair of Silver Eyes, ones that shone with concern and above all relief and joy instead of the empty gaze like before.

"Weiss? You okay?"

Oh she was far from okay alright, she felt absolutely fine. Weiss had never thought she would appreciate Ruby's obnoxious entry to a situation but here she was thanking whatever deities up there for sending this little angel that was her partner to her rescue. But still Weiss kept it to herself and instead answered in a more reserved manner "I'm okay, thank you for your assitance"

The younger girl nodded and smiled, an expression that seemingly out of place considering their current situation and Weiss once again silently appreciate her partner always positive attitude. "Any day, Weiss" She said with a nod before switching her attention somewhere to her left and gingerly leave Weiss's side.

The heiresss' eyes followed her partner small form, noting with concern how she clutched her left arm as she made her way to a downed future version of Crescent Rose and a familiar Scroll. Ruby took the weapon and attached it to her back before fumbling with the Scroll, her face morphed to one of determination as the world slowly brightened and the artificial rain stopped not soon after, revealing a figure laying on the ground not so far from where the duo at.

Rot felt like her inside has been turned to jelly from the sudden impact she receieved.

She never seen the attack coming nor she anticipated it, if this was how it felt being rammed with high speed out of nowhere then she almost sorry to her previous opponents who she neutralized with similiar way. The Huntress blinked rapidly to clear the black dots filling the edge of her vision and tried to get up only to groan when a sudden pain shot up from below her left ribs where the little Rose smashed on her. Still she managed to push on until she finally succeeded to stand on shaky legs.

The older redhead looked around a bit disorientated and confused why the scenery has changed to its normal configuration without terrain or any weather and artificial time cycle. Instead it was white almost everywhere she looked on with RWBY clearly on display.

_My Scroll!_

She patted herself up and down trying to find the device somewhere in her pocket but came out empty-handed, that was when she realized her weapon also gone.

"You looking for this?" A familiar voice called out and Rot looked toward its source, groaning once again when she found where her weapon and Scroll gone to.

"Yes"

Weiss looked at both Roses warily, she has Myrtenaster back on her grip but she can no longer get up. A quick glance of her own Scroll revealed her Aura too already been depleted much to her surprise since the fight itself was rather quick, but maybe the Huntress just pack that much of strength it chipped away her Aura that rapidly?

Her answer came when she shivered involuntarily, looking down to her wet outfits Weiss found the suitable answer for her rheoterical question.

_Physical condition affects one's Aura status including reserve and quality_.

In this case her body wasn't in fit condition with the cold and stress she endured thus her Aura depleted faster than normal.

Weiss grimaced, setting herself down beside Blake instead knowing she was out from the match. The cat Faunus had already awoken and was staring absently at the duo in the middle of the arena when Yang too joined them to watch.

"Damn, Blakey. Who got you bit the bullet?"

The ravenette didn't even put an effort to glare she just sat there when she responded. "She did" Blake gestured toward the woman opposite Ruby. "What about you? Since when you use that old shampoo product they called Dirt'NSoil?"

Yang grumbled as she plopped herself down between the girls, putting her arms on each of their shoulders and flare her Semblance to offer a sense of warm much to Weiss's gratitude. Yang's blonde strands of hair was a mess with grime and stray leaves covering most of its surface. "She helped me applied it" She answered also gesturing toward the woman.

At this point Weiss didn't even try to keep her composure in check as she slumped on Yang comforting heat, keeping her body close to the blonde to take as much of her fire. "At least none of you almost got shot in the head"

"Yeah because I _did_ get shot in the head" Blake retorted, rubbing her sore cheek only to flinch back when pain exploded from it. "Whatever that was it packed one hell of a punch"

"At point-blank?"

"... Point taken"

Yang grinned at the exchange, it seems her sister really have a lot of tricks under her sleeve. "That woman is bustling with weapons, I told ya" She commented thoughtfully when both Rubys drew their weapons, or at least the unintentionally exchanged weapons. "But what would she do when she was faced against her own weapons?"

What would she do?

Simple, she would exploit the weakness of her opponent by assessing the situation and formulate a plan to eliminate the threat quickly. Or at least that was what she would do if it was a 'normal' fight, not a friendly match where if she killed her opponent it will only cause more problem than solving them. Not that she would ever kill her own friends lest herself of course.

Rot weighed the Scythe on her grip, testing the familiar weapon. There are some significant difference between this Crescent Rose and the one she has in terms of weight but it's still the same weapon she used to wield it almost like riding an old bicycle after long time, not like she ever rode one but it's the closest methapor.

At least she's not like the little Rose across.

While Rot felt it lighter Ruby was on the exact opposite, she clumsily change her grip from one hand to other all the while flexing her fingers to find a correct grasp. The fact her dominant hand wasn't in the best condition also affected her handling but she supposed it's not entirely the cause.

Still, she stood her ground with Crescent Rose future version resting on her good shoulder, fully extended on its Scythe form. Her Silver Eyes are narrowed in a serious expression as she looked at the Huntress who mirrored her stance.

"Ruby's pissed" Yang suddenly said to her fellow teammates, keeping a good look at both redheads.

"Well, she kinda has her team getting kicked so it should be normal for her"

"I would assist her if wasn't for the rule"

"Relax, she'll be fine"

Blake scoffed. "Rot's definition of fine goes beyond getting shot in the face"

"Geez Blake, just cut it off already will you?"

Blake was about to respond but kept quiet when the fighting duo sped forward to each other in a blur of red, she barely able to keep track with the match even with her better than average vision for all Blake could see was nothing but flashes and sparks as their weapons makes contact to one another.

"Woah"

"I told ya she's pissed"

Weiss stared awestruck, she knew Ruby is good but her partner rarely showed this much of... Fortitude. The smaller girl always reserved her full strength for fighting Grimm and Grimm only she usually relinguished herself in a match against other human and Faunus alike. Ruby once confessed she doesn't like to fight against anything other than Grimm since it makes her uncomfortable in fear of hurting someone unintented and while Weiss found it so like Ruby she couldn't help but to sympathize her noble reasoning.

Yang said it was worse before Ruby joined Signal Academy, it took Yang and her Uncle to drill Ruby about self-defense and how to justify it so she won't have any remorse when she fought her classmates in a spar. Most of it they succeeded but even so Ruby still can't go full power unless with Grimm, her seemingly lack of skill in fighting someone was more to choice than anything.

The fact she was now using the same intensity and fierceness she usually used for Grimms in her strike caught Weiss off-guard. And if what Yang said with Ruby being upset was right then Weiss would make sure to not displeased her before their next match.

The Huntress noticed it too, as she dodged a wide arc aimed to her head she caught a glance of Ruby's face and grinned at what she saw, even when she finished rolling to her feet the expression hasn't faded.

Determination and burning rage are a great combination afterall.

Ruby grunted out through her gritted teeth as the Huntress evaded once again, her trump card is speed but in this fight she was on subpar with her opponent it's virtually impossible to hit her. Still, she kept on her assault since it's the best way to blow her steam off.

"You know your fault?" Her opponents queried from across the field, twirling her weapon in one hand absentmindedly. Despite it Ruby knew the woman was currently adressing a serious matter since she too was thinking the same thing.

"My team" She growled in reply, tightening her grips on the shaft of Crescent Rose's future version.

"Exactly, you didn't just neglected your responsibility as a leader but you also got your whole team killed" She declared, smashing the Scythe on her palm to the ground by its forward-end blade. "Situational assessment and planning is second on the list, first you secure the area and make sure no threat is nearby. In case you can't then find an area where you can"

"I _know_" She growled out with yet another strike, this time Ruby sped forward with Crescent Rose held on her side as she burst through the air intending to cut anything infront of her.

Rot stared at her and her sudden action disapprovingly before she brought the girl's weapon up vertically with both hands, silently bracing her stance for the upcoming impact.

A loud clank resonated in the area as both weapons made contact, the sudden momentum Ruby had rattled her bones as she came to abrupt stop directly beside the woman. She tried to pry the Scythe on her grip free but her opponent simply didn't allow her to.

"You are responsible for your team not just as their leader but their leaning stone. The succession and survival rate of your missions depends on your decision and course of action, one day you will be forced to make decision you don't like, one that can haunt you for the rest of your life..."

Ruby gasped when a kick hitted her on her side, sending her flying before she stopped on her belly. A groan of pain escaped her throat as she frantically looked around the area, noticing the absent of Crescent Rose's presence. But instead of the Sniper-Scythe a bundle of red soared in the area heading toward her prone position, setting of red flags all over her mind.

Immediately Ruby pushed herself off the ground exactly a few seconds before the red figure suddenly slammed forward with all of her might directly on where she was laying, a glint of her Crescent Rose revealed when the dust slowly settled revealing a sizeable crack on the metallic floor.

She flinched when her weapon creaked against the steely surface, the rear-end blade trembled from the left over force it had when it made impact. That much of force _would_ have bypassed her Aura shield should it hit her, forget her fast healing capability it won't do a thing if her inside explodes to a juice of red.

Before she could protest the seemingly unnecessary over powered attack, the woman already jumped forward with a trail of rose petals following her. Ruby squeaked in surprise when she swung Crescent Rose so fast it created a sharp wave of air to her direction which she barely able to rolled away from.

_I didn't know she can do that!_

The attack left a long gash of angry scratch mark on where she stood at, marking the metal with permanent scar. Ruby knew what it was, she simply overdrove the swung by infusing her Semblance to it and let the world do the rest. She'd been training the same trick with her Uncle Qrow but stopped after enrolling to Beacon since the last time she trained by herself Ruby nearly tore her muscle off her bones thanks to her super speed it couldn't compensate the stress.

"No plans survive initial contact with the enemy, just like you they too were taught to adapt to their situations and prevail" Rot tilted her head, a scowl settled on her face as she put Crescent Rose on her shoulder. She gestured to her left where Crescent Rose future version laid abandoned. "You've been disarmed, a death sentence in a fight. You have no advantage over your enemy so what would you do?"

"I still have both of my hands"

"And I have a weapon with me, we know which'll win"

"You don't know that"

"I _knew_ that. Sheer will and brute strength won't take you anywhere no matter how motivating they sound, you need to be patient and wait for an opportunity before you strike. This is no Grimm we are talking about"

Ruby let out one long frustrated shriek as she grabbed a fistful of her hair and pulled it, eliciting a fit of amused snort from the woman. She knew she hated learning to fight anything that wasn't Grimm but this is just as important if not more. "Why can't the police or military do their jobs right? Fighting some thieves is one thing but to hunt some criminals outside the Kingdoms is another" Those guys she fought a month ago was just some unfortunate people in the wrong place at the wrong time she had no problem kicking their butts, a real criminal though is more difficult to deal considering their code of operation is entirely different.

Huntsmen also accepted counter-terrorist mission, and as tempting as the idea of defeating some bad guys and be a hero Ruby preferes fighting Grimms over human, beside they too just as important.

"Listen, kid. I won't try to sugarcoat it but sooner or later you will get your first encounter against a human and that might not go very pretty. I better have you prepared to what's coming rather than letting you stay in the dark no matter how I felt" Rot strode forward, collapsing the weapon on her shoulder and returned it to its owner. "I too hope the world is consisted with just black and white, more than once"

Ruby nodded and receieved the weapon, a sour look adorning her face as she attached Crescent Rose to her back silently. It's very obvious the woman called their training off without her needing to say anything.

The Huntress noticed her expression clearly and had to supress a sigh, she doesn't like it basically telling the girl she would kill someone one day but she has to know what she signed herself for. It broke her heart in all honesty, she doesn't want her to have her hands stained with blood especially as many as her's which she had lost count of long time ago.

She must understand it's not a fantasy world they live on where everyone waited their hero with open hands everytime they returned home from fighting evil.

A hand found its way to her locks of red hair and Ruby pouted in response as the older girl started to ruffle it, she tried to pushed it away in annoyance but pain shot up from her left arm prompting her to wince not so subtly as she instinctively grasped it. Ruby supposed with the adrenaline wore off nothing distracted her body from telling her mind something was wrong anymore.

"Does it still hurt?" Rot asked, a hint of concern in her tone as she moved to grab her injured arm socket.

"Not as worse as before but yeah, nothing Aura can't heal though" Ruby quickly added when she noticed a look of regret on her counterpart's face. "It's okay, I'm fine. I'm tougher than I look, you know"

The Huntress tried to smile but it came out more to a grimace. "Of course I know, I'm you" She chuckled lightly, gesturing for Ruby to follow her as they made their way toward the rest of the team after retrieving the fallen weapon.

The younger redhead grinned before bolting forward to her team, frantically checking each of them much to Yang's amusement, Weiss's annoyance and Blake's indifference. Rot lingered a bit to look at them from the distance, tracing her fingers absently on the surface of her beloved weapon now dormant form with a small smile on her face. She didn't react even when they looked at her incredulously when Ruby explained what actually hitted Blake and how if wasn't for the training bullets she used Blake would be dead with a hole instead of mere bruise on her pretty face.

"Hey! can we do that little race on our way back?"

"Sure, what do you have in mind as consequence of being the last?"

"Well uh... Maybe she can treat us ice cream? I don't like telling people to do what they don't like..."

"Fine with me"

"Wait, Rubes-"

"And she's gone"

"Ugh, why did she even propose such idea. Whatever I would rather pay you guys the most expensive ice cream than to run right now"

"That makes two of us, Weiss. What about us being the last so we can just pay her treat together and call it a day"

"By that you mean Weiss?"

"Oh shut it, Blake. It's not like we have _that_ much of money. Believe me I took a peek at her credit cards balance and I think I found a new numerical assortment with how much zeroes in it!"

"You did what?!"

As they continued to bicker amongst themselves they didn't realize a figure kept her stride slow and small, deliberately setting her position in the rear of the group as they made their exit.

After what they've gone through this is the least she can do as an offer of apology to her former teammates. They won't hold any grudge against her, that much she knew, but their unkempt appearances and injuries are her works. The little Rose tried to mask it by pretending like she won't have any discomfort on her injured arm for the next hours but she knew better than that.

That girl is tough for sure, more than what meet the eyes even after what had occured to her and her team. Beside she still keeps on forward after all the losses she had endured during the war, a living testimony of her will.

_Afterall ruby is a stone of passion and courage_,_ and won't easily shatter no matter how hard you try to break it._

Her's just cracked, long been assembled after it shattered thanks to her friends and family.

**_TBC_**

**I'd been planning to put that RWBY Chibi reference since the first week I started this story and THAT WAS THREE FREAKING MONTHS AGO! ****So glad I finally able to.**

**I'm deeply sorry for this very late update, there were a lot of complications I faced when writing this chapter. I hesitated for a while since I found it rather subpar compared to previous chapters but I decided to let you guys judge me so here it is.**

**Also, now Crescent Rose is back to action I found it right for me to reveal more about other ideas I have regarding how it could be better in its Sniper form with adding extra modifications to live up its 'Sniper' title. I also fixed how Ruby _should_ handle it like a sniper it's supposed to be instead of an over-powered anti-Grimm rifle and mere distraction.**

**Y'all watched that Volume 7 trailer already? boy am I right Atlas isn't such a safe heaven. I'm excited with how it will be and hopefully it'll turned out good.**

**_Responses for reviews:_**

**_Hazzamo:_ The official story is she lost it during her voyage to space after Circum Pacific War hahahaha. I love how some Ace Combat players catches that references and others.**

**_merendinoemiliano:_ ****Me too, bro, me too. They need someone to look up to and what's better than their sweet and adorable leader adult version?**

**_Sm0keyPanda:_ Sure she is. Anyway, here/s another long chapter, bro, since you hoped some of it to be this long lol.**

**_JackTheSpades__:_ ****Welp, I focused on more to RWBY since others are a bit bland to be honest. These four girls are waayyy more interesting than anyone else.**

**I mean, you would want to know who you become when you meet your future self and that is exactly what Ruby want to do. Also she fills those curves alright :3. I think I made it pretty clear about Yang part in this chapter**.

**Hm, bold of you to assume she would need cover story :)**

**First of, in case you misunderstood. When I said "worst nightmare" I don't mean just some fear. Based on Volume 4 and 5 it was pretty clear what they afraid the most is separation, and that is exactly what Rot induced to them. After that she can fend them off individually while inserting some subtle moves to affect her victims' mental. Psychology Warfare is a part of 'unseen battlefield' along with Electronic Warfare, thus it usually not so noticable or apparant. Do you know the US Army during Vietnam War had this recording they would play in the deep jungle that resemble the sound of ghost, scream and basically other horrifying sounds to unsettle Vietnam soldiers? You can check it on Youtube, I listened to it once when there was a power outrage in my place and it's one of my most terrible decisions alright.**

**Old habits die hard, bro. And yeah I'm aware I can reply through PM but I prefer it this way so when people have questions and too shy to ask they can just look down and get their answers.**

**_Silvervoalt:_ I'm sorry but what do you mean? if you are refering to these notes I usually left on every chapters believe me when I said I'm trying to keep it as short as I can. But if you are refering to how I put some of my ideas in the story then I think there is nothing I can do about it, it's simply my writing style.**

**That concluded it, I see you guys later and hopefully soon. As always don't forget to review.**

**Take it easy, guys.**

**Cipher032 out!**


	13. Chapter 13: Past Imperfect

**_DISCLAIMER: RWBY BELONG TO ROOSTER TEETH AND ITS ORIGINAL CREATOR MONTY OUM (R.I.P)_**

**I'm sorry, Ruby! You're a precious little bean that doesn't deserve anything happen in this fic but I have to!**

**Please review and enjoy this chapter.**

**Chapter 13: Past Imperfect**

_"No, not this place again..."_

_She was in a small room, so small it barely fit the only furniture it had. A window with even smaller size built with steel bars on row was positioned a few metres above her, allowing a dull grey of cloudy day light to enter the place, casting the room with barely enough lightning for her to see around._

_Not like she needed to look her surrounding to understand it since she would never forgotten how it seemed._

_Not like she was able to move her body even the slightest like how she remember she couldn't._

_And the pain, God the pain she could still feel even after those years. The feeling of chains digging her wrists and ankles, keeping her on her feet even when she no longer had the energy to stand, the awful stench of blood, sweat and other bodily fluids that both her's and not assaulted her nose it made her almost gag in disgust even though her body refuse to react._

_The physical wounds were all numb now however, compared with the deep mental scar she got it was nothing but the icing of this horrible cake. She tried to put on a brave face whenever they attempt another... Session with her, even going so far to fight back. Alas, in the end she was just one helpless young woman against an entire organization so after a few days of torment she finally shattered and broke down to whatever she was now._

_She didn't even try to think of what would her sister and friends thought of her it hurt so much just to imagine their reactions when they found out her condition. Yang and Dad gonna be devastasted and probably will disowned her being a failure she was, Weiss would look at her in disgust and Blake would just stop talking to her like she wasn't even there. She had failed as a team leader, a disgrace to the Huntsmen Corps and military they would strip her off her rank and throw her out like a worthless spent cartridge.__To be entirely honest though she's not sure what to think of herself either, being reduced to this dirty mess of person that wasn't any better compared to animal she had nothing left within herself._

_That reputation she uphold as a badge of honor was gone, her pride and dignity were all gone in the hands of these... These meanies she didn't even know about. She didn't even actively going against these people in her job, was it because she was a friend of Blake they targeted her as relative? if so then why now and not since years ago instead?_

_No, that wasn't it. There has to be a reason why they took her, but they didn't say anything to her other than to question her regarding the war which she flat out refused to answer when it drove to military affairs. After that they would pry and forced her to speak even when she made it clear she won't say anything more, and then the beating, the torture and... and... and **that** would follow almost relentlessly even when she begged them to stop._

_She whimpered when a gust of cold wind washed over her body, seeping to her skin and bones through her tattered clothes. She hoped she had her beloved red hood right now to offer her some sense of comfort but they took it shortly after they brought her here, a part of herself had resigned they probably burned the only real legacy her mother left her but the other part tried to stay positive they probably just put it somewhere._

_It's been what? 3 days? 4? a week? or perhaps even a month? She couldn't tell. The days passed painfully slow and fast she lost track of time since long time ago, it's getting duller and duller she just let it flow along the wind with little to no care. She almost believed she would stay here for the rest of her live, which considering how they treat her will be anything but long, her high spirit was now non-existant no longer did she looked up whenever the sturdy metal door infront of her opened up in hope for rescue._

_She just wanted to be done with it, just to make all of this to stop._

_It could have been worse though and she knew it, she actually grateful Crescent Rose was left behind when they captured her or otherwise they could have done some unimaginable things to her baby. It was the only source of comfort she had knowing at least her weapon was fine, presumably salvaged by someone already but it's better than to let these people touch her sweetheart with their filthy hands._

_A pair of Silver Eyes blinked hard and with it was a droplet of tear followed by a sob of misery. The chains holding her up rattled as she began to cry for countless time in that place, rocking her body in a fit of weeping as she struggle futilely against the binding. Ruby had decided if this was how she would spend her last moment then she was fine with it, she just hoped it would be quick and if they didn't do it then she could just find another way like starve herself to death_ _or drive her skull to the wall with what little power she had left._

_Afterall, protocol dictates no informations should fall on the enemy's hands by any mean necessary, and she had resolved herself to do the deeds by her own if there was no chance of help any time soon. Something she had started to consider as the case recently._

_The grey metallic door creaked open, revealing a member of the splinter group of former White Fang. He still had the same mask the White Fang used to wear but instead of white it was black with a hint of red on its cheeks area. Ruby could feel his eyes roaming up and down her form and she found herself bristling in discomfort at his gaze which only grew worse when another pair of men revealed themselves behind him._

_Silently he reached forward, prompting Ruby to flinched back in fear and close her eyes tightly. But instead of assaulting her like how they usually would, the man began to disengage the chains holding her wrists and ankles._

_"It's time" He said simply and left the room without further explanation, but before Ruby could do anything the two remaining men grabbed her by arms and started to dragged her out of the holding cell_ _roughly_. _When they arrived outside the men holding her shoved her down on a wheeled table, nearly knocking the wind out of her._

_"W-Where are you bringing me to?" She wheezed out weakly, not exactly had the energy to fight back as they push her down on the metal table. Her vision won't stop spinning and her body felt so numb she couldn't sense anything other than to listen and see her surrounding._

_"The Commander has decided you've tested his patience long enough so he sped up the schedule" One of them replied, fastening her hand to the table while the other did the same to her other one before they moved on to her hands._

_"Schedule for what?" Ruby tried to get up but found herself unable to with the bindings keeping her down, not that matter much with her physical condition it barely did much difference._

_"You'll **see**"_

_Wordlessly they started to wheeled her away to somewhere, what little rational part left of her shattered thought screamed danger and tried to force her to fight back but it did nothing more but to make her realized how helpless she was when her body refused to budge. Instead she resigned herself to look at the passing world around her, dully noting the glaring light bulbs hovering above her with her blurry vision._

_In the background the scent of medicine slowly accumulating until it dominated the area, prompting her to wrinkle her nose in discomfort. Her trance was broken when a very bright light suddenly filled her vision, forcing her to close her eyes when it become so unbearable, she didn't even realized they've come to stop._

_"This is her?" Someone spoke from somewhere in the area, his voice was deep and gravely. It certainly neither of the two Faunus' for certain._

_"Yes, the Commander specified so" Replied the first guy Ruby recognized the voice as the one she talked to._

_"Hm, fascinating for sure"_

_The blinding light was pushed aside so suddenly, leaving Ruby to rapidly blinked her eyes as they tried to adjust to the new surrounding. Its afterimage slowly fading, she looked around to determine where she was only to have a face of someone she didn't recognize filled her vision._

_"He wants you to do it quick and clean, keep her alive after you finish she still has some value that could benefit us"_

_"By benefit do you mean to fill your sick desire or for your struggle" He muttered under his breath, none of the other occupants could hear him but Ruby did being so close with him "I get it. Now, gentlemen, would you kind enough to grant me some space? I have work to do and your presence might hinder me"_ _The man replied with clearer dismissive tone._

_He finally leant away from her, giving Ruby enough space to look on this new place as her previous captors made their way out. It was bigger than her cell, much more bigger, but it has no window or whatsoever adorning the wall. The only things that wasn't plain grey wall were a set of reinforced blue double doors as the only entrance to the room._

_A shock of pain shot out from her head, forcing Ruby to shut her eyes tightly. The lack of rest she endured didn't go well with her brain she kept having these sudden migraines whenever she strained her eyes too much. It didn't help either her vision couldn't get focused for some reason._

_"I never seen your kind directly before so forgive my curiousity, Ms. Rose" The strange man suddenly said as he paced around the room with a clipboard in his hands. "Though I have heard of the tales but it still unbelievable, I feel honored for this opportunity"_

_"Are you going to force your way to me too?" Ruby croaked out in hoarse tone, keeping her eyes still shut__ to at least lessen the dizziness._

_"What? Oh no, you mistaken me for these degenerates. I have no such intention, you see" He chuckled amusedly, continuing his pacing. "Like I said I'm just curious, with what? your special ability of course. It's been a while a Silver Eyed Warrior was sighted and a Rose nonetheless"_

_"So?"_

_"So it was an honor to meet a member of one of the greatest family ever exist in Remnant. It's just a shame there is no one else left other than you though, we could use your family heritage to win this unfathomable war"_

_"You don't know anything about me or my heritage" To be fair she didn't know much either but the way this freak talk about her it seemed like he knew his cookie._

_"On the contrary, Ms. Rose. I know you pretty well, it's amazing how fast word travels even with CCTs inoperable. Acquiring your biodata was a bit difficult though but nothing a little adjustment can't fix, I must say you have quite a potential with you"_

_Despite herself, Ruby could still scoff. "Cut the bull already, either kill me or spare me from your nonsense"_

_"Kill you? why would I want to kill you? such magnificent experiment could go wasted!"_

_"What kind of experiment? And what does it have something to do with me?"_

_"You? nothing. But these right here..." His fingers settled themselves on her eyelids and forced them open. "They are what truly excited me. Finding specimen of these was hard already if not impossible, to have them as fresh was like a dream comes true!"_

_Ruby yanked her head away defiantly from his grasp, glaring toward the man with burning malice. "You keep your hands away from me or I will cut them both"_

_It was an empty threat however and she knew it, she was as powerless as a little girl she won't be able to do anything to him. But still, whoever this guy was he had his brain fried so bad judging from his abnormal antics, it scary though knowing her fate rested literally on this guy's hands, not knowing what he would do to her._

_"Ah right, the roses always have thorns" He chuckled in a deep rumbling tone as he made his way to a nearby table, before Ruby could sigh in relief she caught a glint of something metallic at the corners of her eyes. "You know what they say about roses?"_

_"What are you-"_

_"Rhetorical question, sweetie, you don't need to answer that" His voice was followed with a sound of steels scrapping against one another, the noises itself was enough to make her squirmed anxiously as she kept her blurry gaze on his back. "They say; only those who are strong enough capable to pluck a rose off its roots, those who endure the stings of its thorns until they succeed will be rewarded with scent they could never have. As I say you've lost your best thorn, and thanks to these acquaintances of mine you are wilting it would be too easy to pluck you"_

_"Oh yeah? come here and unrestrain me. This rose gonna shove her pot so hard down your fucking ass" Ruby didn't know where that came from but with her thought slowly piecing itself together it easier to focus on something now. She probably just needed to lay herself a bit to have her brain working again albeit sluggishly._

_"My... Such profanity is unrequired, Ms. Rose. I'm not going to pluck you off your root, instead I will pluck your eyes out and use them as lab specimens!"_

_He turned around to face her, on his hand a needle held ready with sickly yellow liquid inside its tube while the other held somekind of metallic tool she didn't know of, but the glint of its sharp edge was enough to tell her it was something dangerous and should be kept at distance._

_In a show of twisted pleasure he pulled down his mask, revealing a very human face instead of Faunus she was expecting, she had not seen any additional appendages on the man's anatomy and was assuming his Faunus trait was on his skin like that chameleon Faunus which was Blake's friend._

_"You're not one of them" Ruby whispered with a clear surprise in her tone. When he started to approach her she began to frantically squirmed her body in fear to the impending threat "Why are you doing this?!"_

_"Profits and to understand what make people like you so special"_

_"You're insane!"_

_"Maybe, but aren't most prestigious scientists also considered as insane? Don't worry, Ms. Rose, when I'm done I'll make sure they remember you as a brave soul who sacrificed herself for greater good"_

_The needle punctured the skin on her chest and she hissed in pain when it hit her ribs before it finally reached her heart, whatever complaint she had never made it out of her mouth though because a sudden falling sensation took over her body followed by what can only be described as searing hot pain streaming down her veins._

_"It hurts! Wh-what you injected me with?!" Ruby screamed, thrashing against the harness when the pain become too unbearable. Her nails dug in the metal table but between them and the steely surface they stood no chance so she ended up bleeding her fingers instead._

_"A simple drug to overcome your nervous system. You won't feel any pain other than what you currently feeling, thus when I cut your eyes out you won't feel excessive pain than what you already feeling" He brought the tool close to her face, so close she could tell how sharp it was just by looking at it._

_"No! Don't come any closer! Get away from me!"_

**_CONTINUE_**

The team's peaceful slumber was shattered when a sharp gasp resonated in the dorm room followed by frantic footsteps and door being slammed open. The four occupants groggily looked around, still half-awake from their sleep when a sound of someone retching in the bathroom caught their attention.

Yang looked down at where their latest roommate supposed to be at but found an empty and disheveled mattress instead, a look of concern passed her face when another sound emitted.

"Rot? You okay there?" Ruby asked tentatively, pushing herself down from her bunk bed careful to not accidentally step on Weiss who was sitting on her's. She shot her partner a questioning gaze but Weiss just shook her head as reply, she didn't know what is going on either since she too was deep asleep.

Deciding to take a look on her own, the young Huntress-in-training moved to the doorway of their bathroom followed closely by her teammates who were just as concerned.

The woman was standing in a hunched position behind the toilet, her eyes were shut while one of her hands fixed on the flushing button, silently letting the furniture to wash her dinner away. She didn't make any motion of acknowladging their presence whatsoever even when they began to fill in the small room.

"What is going on? Are you sick?" Ruby tried to ask her again, this time more tentatively fearing the worst. People don't just randomly hurled their stomach out without reasons especially in a middle of a night.

"It's nothing" The Huntress replied hoarsely, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand before making her way to the sink and washed her face. She stared at her reflection for a moment before wordlessly brushing past the girls.

They shared an unsure glances as she settled behind the large window betwen their bunk beds but didn't say anything even when Rot began to unlock the said window, letting the cold night wind to blow in caressing her strands of deep red hair. The woman then leant on the bookshelves they put under the window and buried her face on her hands, shoulders visibly sagged and trembling with each breath she took.

"That isn't nothing" Weiss retorted to her previous statement, staring at the woman's back with stern gaze not that she could see it.

"Really though, what happened? Did you have a nightmare?" Yang added in hope to get more information from her. She hated it when Ruby gets one of those nightmares, they always managed to upset her sister and that in turn upset her. The feeling however was increased tenfold when she realized how often this Ruby must fend for herself after all of those years, and one that managed to shook her hardened heart nonetheless.

Blake studied the woman silently, unlike her teammates she was awoken when the older girl first shown sign of distress in her sleep. Rot's whimpering had Blake almost jumped down to check on her but she hesitated recalling the way she reacted earlier that day to Yang's attempt in waking her, she didn't want the woman to snap her arms-or worse neck-because of the sudden disturbance.

The ravenette had decided to wake Yang since she was less likely to get hurt and in case she does Yang still has the highest survival rate than her in that departement, but before she could Rot suddenly jolted up and ran straight to the bathroom with wild gaze on her eyes, it threw Blake to a loop because she never imagined that look would settled on Ruby's face one day, a look of someone being haunted by one's eternal enemy.

An imperfect past.

"Do you know what the best medicine is?" The Huntress suddenly asked, pulling them out of their train of thoughts. Once again they shared another glances filled with uncertainty to each other.

"Why? are you really sick?" The concern was obvious as Ruby yet asked about Rot's well being again. She must found it amusing to a degree because the other redhead let out a hollow chuckle before replying.

"No, but I feel like being philosophical. Anyway, the best medicine as many living being has come to realize is time" Rot gazed up, toward the silver shine of Remnant's broken moon, the light reflected on her own orbs it made them glow. Slowly, she pointed her hand to the said moon "With time all kind of wounds will be healed, even one that is that bad. Remnant's gravity will eventually piece the moon back together to its original form, to how it was before it was shattered"

"That is a very basic knowledge, anyone who is not living under a rock or paying enough attention in lectures will understand especially Astronomy" Weiss agreed to which Yang shuffled on her feet, she didn't know about that since she barely paid attention to any lectures that involves physics. She hated it with passion afterall.

Rot hummed in confirmation, dropping her extended hand to stare down below to the courtyard, if the girls sees her face right now they'll notice the distant look on it. "But sometime, even time is not enough to heal your wound. You don't have thousand of years to forget"

With that she closed the window and locked it before diving down to her mattress and pulled the tossed blanket up to her chest and closed her eyes. The blanket covering her body obscuring her trembling hands as she traced the scars on her belly under the cover, she shifted her position opposite from the girls so half of her face was buried on the pillow, silently wiping a stray tear accumulating on the corner of one of her eyes.

She hated lying to her friends, but she also didn't want to tell the details of her dream to them so Rot decided to give the partial truth albeit cryptically. She has to appear strong infront of them just for the sake of morale, and as if maintaining a smile like it didn't hurt just to look at her old team again, so cheerful and confident they could take on the world, her mind decided to say 'screw you' and played that worst nightmare too many to count once again during her most vulnerable moment.

She just hoped they will drop the subject.

**_CONTINUE_**

_"I'll be out for a while and will return before lunch, don't look for me"_

_"Where are you going? are you sure you're feeling okay?"_

_"I'm fine, kid. I have something I need to do"_

That was all what Rot said that morning before she abruptly took her leave to God knows where. She didn't even bother to grab a breakfast first and that worried Ruby, the woman threw whatever sustenance she took last night out and should have nothing keeping her stomach fed. Ruby would have looked out for her was it not for her classes, and the last thing she wants is another detention after just a week getting one thanks to Yang's rather brazen prank that involved Fire and Ice Dusts. One of the teacher literally _exploded_ in a cloud of steam during their Chemistry, needless to say the whole team must gone through the consequence after the dust settled.

The last few words were part of Yang's explanation when their dad called them because of it.

Speaking of which, her older sister was fast asleep on her desk, snoring lightly as she used her hair as a makeshift pillow. Ruby would have scold her for sleeping in the class again but Yang seemed rather tired when they woke up, it almost like she hadn't had sleep at all judging from the bags under her lilac eyes. But then again Yang tend to stay late night tinkering with her Scroll doing whatever she was doing, it probably just that.

A nudge on her side had Ruby grunt in annoyance, Weiss wouldn't stop bothering her and kept on making both physical and non-physical contact whenever she zoned out Oobleck's lecture. Ruby tried to glare at the heiress but the glare she receieved in return always made her shrunk back in defeat, Weiss can be scary when she wanted to and she doesn't want to start a ruckuss just because of something as trivial.

Out of the four of them, Blake was the only one keeping her hands and silence at bay. The cat Faunus absently filled in her notebook with whatever points she finds necessary for future study while occasionally glancing at the clock. She didn't show it but Blake was bored as hell and sitting for hours doing nothing except listening and writing even being a patient someone like she is there's still a limit and she had gone beyond it.

The only source of entertainment she got was both partners sitting infront of her and their little glaring contest, even though Ruby would always lose against Weiss's unnerving glare, Blake found it amusing how Ruby would try to challenge Weiss again only to get the same outcome. She was glad such tenacity wasn't directed to her.

Eventually, the bell rang signaling the end of their lectures. Not rarely a student would sigh in relief and not rarely either their contented reactions to the savior called lunch break were audible, but Blake's way expressing her glee was different than the other. She stretched her back in a wide arc and yawn widely, grunting in delight whenever a joint popped allowing a fresh stream of blood to travel down her stiff muscles.

"Very well, students it appears today's lecture has finally concluded. You may take your leave now and do enjoy your lunch immensely"

They do just that, slowly dragging their feet out of the room after waking the fourth member of their team much to the said member irritation. Albeit begrudgingly Yang finally caught up with her friends after knocking many students out of the way, Ruby thought she saw Jaune got shoved to somewhere but she wasn't sure.

"Today's menu better be good" The blonde grumbled but before any of them could respond she suddenly slung her arm around Weiss's shoulders and grinned. "Hey, Weiss-y! I actually was expecting you would try to wake me up but it seemed you're afraid of my impressive reflex"

Weiss scoffed and pushed Yang away. "You and what reflex? You can sleep through a bombardement lest a pat on the back"

Yang grinned cheekily in response. "Half truth's not a full truth so it's not counted"

"Smartass" Blake mumbled, pulling out a book from one of her pouches and began to read from where she left out. She was on the half of a paragraph when someone familiar suddenly jumped infront of them, startling the team out of their squabble.

"Boo"

"AHHHHH!"

For the second time in two days interval Rot succeeded in sneaking on her former team. And for the second time, she laughed her butt off to their priceless reactions.

"Would you cut it off?!" Blake hissed with a snarl on her face, both cat ears folded back. To put it simply she looked like an angry cat.

"What? Can't take a little surprise?" The woman countered between giggle, still holding her stomach as she tried to calm herself. "Heh, scaredy cat"

Blake glared at the Huntress for a while longer before shifting her attention to her fallen book and picked it up. She sighed deeply to get her nerve under control and continued on her stroll without her team. It's been a while since someone other than Rot managed to sneak on her and she didn't like it one bit, it shows how close she gets in having her back stabbed, how she could have gotten killed.

"Blake! I'm sorry okay? I didn't mean to upset you" Rot called out apologetically, jogging to catch up with the Faunus.

"I'm not upset, just don't do that again it made me uncomfortable"

"So, we're good?"

The ravenette nodded but after a quick pondering she turned around and gave the older girl a small reassuring smile. "Yeah"

Rot smiled back but before she could say anything Yang already beat her to it. "Anyway, where have you been?"

"Nowhere special, I needed to blow some steam so I hunt a few Grimms in Emerald Forest"

"That's..."

"Counter-productive" Weiss interjected, gaining a few nods of agreement from her teammates. Any attempt to combat Grimm in a highly infested area is considered as pointless since the Grimm itself was too many to make any difference so the military never done it, beside the fact it will cost millions and the manpower required was too enormous to begin with.

That hasn't stopped a few Huntsmen from going alone however, especially those who have more personal reasons. Trial by fire is an unofficial motto of Huntsmen Corps anyway and nothing beat experience in value.

"You said you needed to blow some steam... Was it because of last night?" Ruby began tentatively, reminding her team of last night's event much to Rot's distress. The Huntress visibly flinched and for the second time since they met her she showed a sign of insecurity by rubbing her arms.

"Look, can we not talk about it? I don't feel like to..." She mumbled the last part, dropping her gaze down to the floor and shuffled on her feet.

Yang saw the sign and nodded understandingly. "It's okay, we won't pry. But just for you to know you have us to talk with"

"Lucky me"

_I just hoped I had you years ago._

The older redhead shook her head and smiled. "Well c'mon then! I'm starving"

"Wait! You're going to join us in the cafetaria?" Ruby asked in which her older self nodded in confirmation. "Why? not that I'm complaining but you usually eat alone"

"Well, since this probably going to be my last day until indefinite time of leave I figured I could spend what time I have with you guys" The woman noticed Ruby's smile faltered when she mentioned her leave, prompting a sigh to leave her mouth. "Hey, don't be like that. I'll be back before you know it"

It didn't alleviate Ruby's concern at all, in fact her statement seemed worsened it. "It just... Mom promised me the same thing too... And she never comes back"

A sullen mood took over the group as they stood on the hallway silently, it's a good thing most students had already left the place and only some were left huddled on their own doing whatever they are doing, otherwise they'll question the sudden change of atmosphere and the last thing they wanted is random people sticking their noses to where they don't belong.

Blake and Weiss stared at the white ceilling suddenly finding it interesting while Yang kept her gaze straight to her sister who had a downcast look on her face. Both sisters' partners didn't exactly dislike this particular subject but they would try their best to avoid it at all cost, knowing full well how sensitive it was whenever Ruby's mom was brought up. Neither of them blame Ruby however, they would never do such thing to her, but they hope the girl would just move on no matter how difficult it is for her own sake.

"Then it's a good thing I'm not mom" Rot declared with a grin, surprising the other girls. She ruffled Ruby's red locks, partially intending to mess with the younger girl but mostly to wipe the downcast look she had. "Now seriously I'm hungry, can we go eat now?"

Ruby pouted as she tried to comb her hair back on place with her fingers before replying "It's your fault for not taking breakfast"

"I'm starting to regret that decision by the way"

**_CONTINUE_**

"So I was rushing down to our chokepoint after receiving a report of it under attack when I saw a Beowolf jumped on someone, I wasn't thinking of anything other than my objective and activated my power in hope to help him but since I didn't think of anything I ended up petrifying it when it still running in full sprint to the poor guy so it crashed on him with all the might a Beowolf and stone statue combined"

The team, well teams since JNPR decided to join them, winced at the prospect of getting hit with such force. As if having a Bowolf pounced on you wasn't good enough a basicaly concrete version of it was added to the mix, they can't help but to feel sorry to whoever the poor man was.

"That... gotta be hurt" Yang commented, an understatement of the century if she ever heard one.

The Huntress hummed for she too busy slurping her pasta, she took one large swallow before replying. "He had to be carried for immediate MEDEVAC, last I heard he was recovering pretty nicely"

Wherever he was right now, whichever version of Remnant it was Rot can only hope for the best. She tried to not thinking about her original world and what happened to it now the war probably over, especially the last few people she knew of like Penny, she must be devastasted knowing one of her only friends was dead but it's not something Rot can control since her fate already sealed anyway.

If Ozpin's theory was right. She still needs to ask him about his inter-dimensional travel idea before jumping to conclusion this was entirely a different world and not her's younger version.

"Do you really capable to turn Grimm into stone?" Pyrrha asked ever so kindly with a small smille on her face, her lunch already been finished and her plate was stacked neatly along with her teammates' on her side.

"Yep, a honest to God stone. Though bigger Grimms means greater concentration but with time it's become a second nature"

"If so why bother using weapon? You can defeat an army of Grimm by yourself and if what you said about your ability is true then it'll be less exhausting"

Rot paused for a moment to mull on Ren's question, it's not the first time someone asked her that and usually she would reason by the fact of how more satisfying it was to cut Grimms apart instead of just petrifying them but she felt like she needed to give the partial real reason.

"Relying solely on my eyes ability is not something I like, I might face complications and out there people tend to complicate things. That's why I still use weapon and the less people knows about my power the better, beside I would never dump Crescent Rose away"

"Yeah!" Ruby agreed enthusiastically, pumping her fist high into the air. "I may kill Grimm with my glare but Crescent Rose will stay by my side forever!"

Both redheads shared a high-five.

"Good one, kiddo!"

"Of course it is, been thinking of that line since yesterday"

"For God's sake..." Weiss mumbled tiredly to her partner- both present and future version- childish antics.

They shared a good laugh then, ignoring the stares they receieved from other students. It's been a while but it seemed they would never get used seeing two such similiar faces sitting side by side with almost same manners of actions. Both redheads couldn't care less to their confused and a bit suspicious gazes as long they don't take an initiative to question them about it.

"Speaking of weapon how's the package, Weiss?"

The heiress folded her arms on the table and smirked smugly. "A three-by-five metres Titanium-A Battleplate with 80% density, 5 centimetres in thickness. Three bars of it each ranging from 2 to half a meter and diameter is a full centimeter, planned to be shipped two weeks from now to Vale. That's what I can request considering how valuable the metal is"

Earlier Weiss promised Ruby to get her the aforementioned metal when it was revealed what kind of material future Crescent Rose uses. She knew her partner won't be able to get it without her and her influence in Atlas so Weiss took it upon herself to help Ruby by pulling some strings back in her Kingdom, beside she couldn't stand Ruby's saddened face.

Of course her father asked her for what exactly the composites are and she answered as honest as she _could__;_ a project, half truth still counted as truth no matter what Yang said.

"Would be suffice, you can keep the excess in case of sudden need of spareparts due to damage-which nearly impossible I might add-by effectively shaping the materials and coating the outer layer with alloy, it can decrease the weight greatly without reducing too much endurance"

"Can you tell me about the Titanium-A?" Rubys queried, leaning forward a bit to the woman with serious look on her face. She always be like that when it comes to weapons.

"Long explanation? Reinforced metal in molecular level, extremely resilient against heat, capable to spread any momentum from an impact and nullified it when you are attacking or just deflecting bullets, all the while only weight half and quarter to steel. Short explanation? It's not your everyday metal"

"Nor does it cheap"

"And that's why you befriend Weiss, kids!" Rot said with a big grin plastered on her face as she put her hands on Weiss's shoulders much to Weiss annoyance.

"Cut it out. How did you get the materials by yourself anyway? did General Ironwood give it to you?"

"Well, there's that and more... Unique ways"

Weiss narrowed her eyes in suspicion, electing a nervous smile from the woman. "What did you do?"

"Hah! What I did I do? Nothing too serious" Rot laughed, a stiff forced laugh as she played with her utensils to avoid Weiss's glare. "I might accidentally stumbled upon military storage room and found it..." She added meekly causing Weiss to sigh in disbelief.

"There is no such thing as 'accidentallly' with Atlesian Miitary, all equipments are stored in a highly fortified area with highest security both conventional and cyber..."

"Well... I did... Kinda"

"Whatever, I'm not even going to question you in that regard"

"So where are you guys heading after this? I heard they have this cool movie coming out recently " Jaune cut in, not exactly liking the subject they have so he decided to change it.

"Hm, I still need to buy some supply so maybe you guys can accompany me?" Rot suggested to team RWBY who nodded their head in affirmation, she smiled and shifted her attention to JNPR. "Sorry, but I think I'll spend a bit more alone time with them. Maybe we can catch up later after I return from my mission? If you okay with it"

"That completely understandable"

"How long are you going to go anyway?" Nora piped up, swallowing a mouthful of pancakes before stuffing another batch in without waiting for the reply.

"Uncertain but it could be days or even weeks, Beacon can provide me a transport so it won't take too much time to reach my destination"

"And what is that?" A dark look passed Rot's face briefly, but those who managed to caught it bristled on their seats.

"Haven" She replied curtly without giving further explanation.

"Does it... Has something to do with the Relic there?" Ruby asked barely above a whisper with her team and friends leaning a bit closer to follow the quiet conversation.

"You can say that" Rot replied rather cryptically, gaining a few confused frown from the other. She shrugged and the atmosphere immediately changed to more lighter one as she smiled at Yang. "I have other matters to attend first, catch up with local birds and ask for direction"

"Now you just intentionally messing up with us" Nora chirped in.

Rot grinned and gave Yang a meaningful look which she returned with impassive face. "Maybe I am"

**_CONTINUE_**

It's been a while since she had to buy her own supply instead having the military to give them and to say it brought back a new wave of nostalgia would be an understatement. More so when she has her _entire_ team accompanying her instead of just her and Weiss.

_J__ust like the old time when things are simpler. _Rot thought with a small smile which turned to full a grin when her eyes swept on the teenagers before her.

She was fully dressed in her Battle Dress, red hood fluttering along the wing as she walked leisurely a few steps behind the team. All of her weapons and supply pouches are attached and secured, magazine holders strapped around her right thigh while Gravity Rounds on her left, Cleaver Rose was on her ammo belt held by the secondary magnetic attachment there while Crescent Rose was on the primary on her back.

Overall, the only thing that hasn't been replenished were her special ammunitions, she planned to have them restocked soon however but that can wait, beside she had bought the materials needed to make one so there was no sense of haste necessary.

Right now all that matter is to enjoy the day at its fullest.

The team as usual was engaged in another friendly banter, much to Rot's amusement. She would snort and chuckle whenever Yang said something stupid and had Weiss reprimand her. At one point Yang mentioned something about using Myrtenaster and its ability to channel Dust power to cool her drink and Weiss spent almost ten minutes explaining why it's a bad idea, though both redheads doubt Yang even listening.

All things considered, Rot sure she seemed like a mama hen herding her bunch of misfits children, a fact that was concreted when she pulled her younger self's cape out of the air when the girl started getting side-tracked _again_. If this was how she acted on her teenage years then she felt sorry for her teammates.

"Agh, let me go I need to check on the latest weapon magazine!" Ruby tried to move away from Rot's firm grasp to no avail.

_And there's that_. The woman thought dryly, the irony didn't escape her.

"Not today, kid. Take it slowly you still need to plan the upgrade for Crescent Rose"

Ruby pouted and grumbled. "But I have the blueprint already, I don't need to plan anything else!"

"Now that just straight up lazy. You should add a few of your own idea to it instead of literally copying mine. I have mine upgraded when I was 20, and your body is not accomodating enough to handle it yet you might have trouble"

"What is wrong with my body?! I can handle your Crescent Rose pretty good during our last match"

Rot gave her a long deadpan look. "You're still too small" She said, raising her hand to Ruby's forehead and compared it with her height, it barely reach her chin. "You can gradually upgrade her along time but I suggest you do a few minor upgrades before doing the full overhaul, otherwise you might accidentally cut your head off"

Weiss visibly cringed at the mention of decapitation, having her limbs barely survived a dismemberment gave her the effect. She turned to her partner and nodded rather vigorously. "I agree with Rot, you should start with smaller upgrades first before transforming Crescent Rose fully"

Ruby stayed silent a moment too long with uncertain look on her face, she really wanted to upgrade her baby to its fullest potential but her physic has not yet granted her. She really hope she was taller and older for the sake of her weapon and herself.

"But you can still create Cleaver Rose, have Blake helping you train or maybe Weiss. I would recommend Jaune but he's still a rookie... Geez never thought I would say that"

"That sounds cool enough, at least now I can fire repeatedly without having to cock Crescent Rose continously, it took too much toll in a fight"

"Which came to a next point" They came across a bench exactly below a tree, feeling the need to sit down so she can explain things better Rot gestured for the team to settle on the bench.

At first they were reluctant but complied without further doubt, sitting in a perfect row was team RWBY with the extra addition infront of them pacing back and forth with arms crossed. It was a habit they understood and familiar with as Ruby's thinking pose, instantly realizing what the Huntress about to say is important.

"And that is...?"

"Yesterday's spar. You did pretty well" The team perked up at the statement but when Rot suddenly zipped closer to them and yelled at their faces their prides were squished beyond recognition. "IN GETTING YOURSELF KILLED!"

The woman turned toward Ruby who was cowering on the corner of the bench. "You! What were you thinking?!"

"Ahh! I'm sorry for thinking!"

"You have the entire team killed, do you know that?!"

"I-I-I..."

"What was that?!"

"I know and I'm sorry!"

"Tell your sorry to Yang! She was concerned beyond belief for her sister! A sister who got herself killed early!"

Yang tried to interject buy raising a shaky arm into the air. "Hey now it's-"

"Quiet, you will have your turn!"

Yang dropped her arm and nuzzled close to Blake before whimpering in fear. Blake meanwhile just sat there rigidly, dumbfounded to the sudden change of topic.

"You should think of the outcome to your actions no matter how small and seemingly insignificant they are, even the smallest of decision has cosequences" Rot declared in surprisingly soft tone, taking Ruby's clenched palm and slowly uncurled it. "Learn from your mistake and past, but don't let them hinder your future. You have great burden placed on your shoulders, kid. Sometime the worst thing to do is not doing anything, so whatever your choice is just remember you are fully responsible to them"

Ruby nodded numbly, staring at the open palm of her older self and her hand on it. She can clearly see the size difference and it only emphasize what Rot said about her weapon. She glanced at her sister who was now staring at the paved ground with empty look, it seemed what Rot said finally hit home, and not just Yang but her other teammates.

Ruby knew the Huntress never meant to upset them but Yang took it personally when she mentioned how close Ruby was to death, it was one of her biggest fear to have her little sister taken from her and under her watch no less. Yang felt her heart clenched at the thought and she had to take a long steady breath to calm herself, even after all her effort she still couldn't save her sister.

_All of the joy that I had known for my life._

Yang blinked and looked around, a look of surprise on her face as she check on her surrounding with wide eyes. Rot was talking with Weiss apparently has moved on from grilling her sister but she paid her no mind.

_Huh?_

It was empty... There is nobody other than them in the vicinity and the only sound that weren't Weiss and Rot's was the silent howl of wind as they rustled the tree behind them. Stil, there was no mistaking the sound she heard was Summer's singing, and it was a line from one of her favorite song. Yang was so sure because she heard her step mom sang it countless time already, and to hear it out of nowhere had her bristled on her seat.

"Hey, you okay? What's wrong?" Blake whispered to Yang with clear concern in her tone.

"Did you hear something? Just now?" When Blake frowned and shook her head no Yang dismissed the subject, it seemed she was imagining things and decided to drop the matter. "Nevermind, it's probably my imagination"

Her partner stared at her for a moment longer before nodding, either because Blake decided to let the matter go or she simply wait for a better opportunity to ask her. Knowing Blake however it's probably the latter.

"Weiss, you need to change your footing for better combat capability. Graceful means nothing if you die because of slip up or having your legs stuck, you can always change back to high-heels but that's during day off only"

Weiss huffed when Ruby gave her a smug smirk, she crossed her arms and stared at her partner's combat boots before sighing in submission. "Fine, combat boots don't seem bad at all"

Ruby grinned and put her arm around Weiss's shoulders. "See Weiss? You need to throw those stupid lady stilts and take the boots. Maybe you could also wear a hood so we're matching!"

The heiress rubbed her face tiredly as her partner continued on to ramble why it's great to wear similiar outfits and the positive it has. She had to admit however some of Ruby's reasons made sense especially the one involving their team relationships.

Not that she would ever wear a cape though. "Ruby, first of to strengthen our solidarity we need not to wear matching outfits, we're a team of Huntresses not girlband. Second, I would never wear a cape"

Ruby pouted in disappointment. "But it would be awesome!"

"You practically said it yourself personal sentiment toward your choice of attires is invalid in a battle" Weiss responded flatly, pointing toward the older woman who thankfully has a decency to feel embarassed. That means she too thinks that was a stupid idea, otherwise Weiss probably would berate her for it.

"Yeah... Basically"

"Good! So do we agree to not wear any type of resembling additional clothing?"

"If you say so..."

"But you still have to change your footing, Weiss" Rot interjected, her tone has taken a lower firmness. Not as fierce as before but still has no room for argument.

"Whatever, it's been a while since I go shopping anyway"

Ruby perked up. "Oh! Can I come with you?"

"What do you wish to buy new clothes?"

"Nope! I want to buy some extra materials to create my own special ammunition types!"

"I don't think that'll be necessary, but one cannot be too cautious"

The partners turned toward Rot and asked simultanously. "Why?"

"Well, I actually create them for my need to improvise, and since Weiss here can use her Semblance for the same effects it's a bit pointless to have bullets like them, don't you think?"

They fell to an uncomfortable silence then, mind reeling back to a few days ago in Ozpin's office. None of them thought it the reason Rot creates the bullets was because she no longer has a fitting partner to give her support in a fight after Weiss's death, thus she must find another way to be in full potential without Weiss.

"I still going to, it won't be forever I have Weiss as my partner, she has a company to run later, doesn't she?"

Weiss groaned half-heartedly, earning a few short laugh from her teammates and the Huntress. "Please don't remind me of it"

"Well, I guess I could say the same to me. Blake still has a lot more to do with the White Fang" At the mention of her former organization Blake's cat ear flattened against her head, but they quickly recovered when Yang suddenly wrapped her arm around her shoulders and pulled her close to her other arm where Weiss was struggling to free herself. "You guys are the ones who're going to fix the future!"

The monochrome pair stared at each other for a moment from beneath Yang's playful headlocks before slowly a grin broke on their faces.

"I actually feel like it possible" Blake said. "To have Schnee Dust Company as our supporter is like a dream come true"

Weiss huffed and rolled her eyes. "We don't want to be be your supporter" Blake blinked, surprised and hurted, but what Weiss said next washed her negative thoughts away in a flood of relief and happiness. "We want to be your biggest supporter"

"Now that's how you do it!" Yang tightened her hug and grinned, unaware with how close she almost killed Weiss and Blake in the process.

"That need to wait, for now you guys just focus on studying and worry about other matters later" Rot cut in, prompting Yang to release her captives. They gave her a grateful look which she returned with an amused smile.

"What about me? have a lot of wisdom to say?"

The woman hummed. "Well, both you and Blake are almost similiar yet opposite. You rely too much on your Semblance while Blake needs to utilize her's more, I've noticed how Blake rarely use her Semblance during her youth whenever I saw her fight in my timeline and it's the same here. But you, Yang, you also need to learn to not rushing forward with brute strength, you must learn to keep your head cool and listen to your friends and teammates, do so and you'll make it alive"

"But I'm not a tactician!"

"Which is why you have Blake as your partner, listen to her an you'll be okay" Rot said with reassuring smile, she directed it to both Yang and Blake knowing full well trust is an issue Blake constantly has in her life.

The cat Faunus understood what beneath that smile, determined to at least keep Ruby's motherly figure alive for her sake even if it was the last thing she do. "I'll make sure you're okay" She declared, tone unwavering.

"Aw, thanks, Blakey"

_That gonna solidify their bonds_. Rot thought contentedly to herself. Nothing a few good words can't do.

"Now, do any of you have any other questions before we head back?"

"Oh! Oh! Tell me more how to use my eyes!" Ruby literally bouncing excitedly in her seat, hand raised to the air like an academy student asking her teacher. She only realized her actions when her teammates giggles to her, causing Ruby to cover her reddening face with her hands

_Cute_.

"What aren't you using them to see?" Rot teased between chuckle.

"No! I mean yes-but no! I mean h-how to use their p-power!" When her friends began to laugh louder Ruby knew she had messed up pretty bad. "Stop laughing at me!"

The older redhead relented when she noticed how red her younger self's face is, the last thing she wanted is for Ruby to faint due to high blood pressure. "Alright, geez. Okay I know you're familiar with Yang's Semblance but I'll start from the beginning"

"Wait-What? Does it have something to do with my Semblance?"

"Just listen, Yang. As I was saying, it was pretty similiar with Yang's Semblance at least in activation"

"You need to be beaten to activate it?" Weiss cut in causing Rot to sigh exasperately for being interrupted for the second time.

"No, it was tied up with emotions. As you all know Yang's Semblance often accidentally gets activated when she was pissed, angry or just overall annoyed. The differences are on what type of emotions it requires to activate Silver Eyes power" Ruby opened her mouth to asked but Rot held her hand up to stop her. "Before you ask, it is activated by all type of emotions. No matter is it rage, despair, or happiness it will work just as fine minus positive feelings which seemed have better effects, for some unknown reasons"

"So it was daily basis feeling? But how could I never have mine activated?"

"It... Must be unlocked first. There is a requirement you must fulfill to unlock it"

"What is that?"

"Something that isn't worth even Silver Eyes power"

_You must feel the pain of losing someone precious to you before your own eyes_, _it's the only way to awaken the sense of preserving life._

They shared a glance, silently comunicating between themselves when they noticed the solemn look the woman had. Whatever she was thinking it must be an unpleasant one. Something that isn't worth such power, what could it possibly be?

Their stupor was cut short when a heavy thud of boots hitting the ground suddenly filled in the empty silence, followed by a loud and cheerful voice they've gone accustomed to in hearing lately.

"Salutation, friends!" Ruby quickly turned around and look at the newcomer with clear surprise written on her face.

"Penny?! What are you doing here?"

The orange haired girl clasped her hands together and smiled. "Hello, Ruby. Such a pleasant surprise to meet you here"

"Likewise, but seriously what are you doing?"

"It's my daily routine, taking a walk around this hour I mean" Penny explained, not even sounding offended her greeting wasn' returned. She shifted her attention to the unknown woman curiously, taking into account how similiar she is with Ruby. "Who is this?"

Ruby began to panic, they're not prepared for this scenario. Thankfully the Huntress caught up and gave her a meaningful look "Ah, she is a... friend? Yeah a friend!"

Penny didn't seem convinced for a second but she dimissed it quickly when the mysterious woman began to talk. "Hello, I'm Rot and you must be Penny, Ruby's friend am I right? She talked about you a lot"

"Did she? Oh Ruby I know you did, that's what friends would do to her other friends"

The team laughed nervously. It's the exact opposite actually, Rot barely talk about Penny or anyone else from her timeline. They supposed she was trying to buried her future for theirs sake. Regardless, Ruby doesn't have to since... Well Rot is her.

"Though I must say you two looks alike, are you Ruby's relative?"

"Well, sort of"

"Really? I thought Ruby was the only remaining Rose"

That caused Blake and Weiss to tensed up, they looked at both sisters to gauge their reactions but Yang just stared at Penny with unreadable expression while Ruby _smiled._

She knew Penny didn't mean offense, she was just being blunt like how she usually was. "Then I would like you to meet Rot Rose" Ruby still finds the name badass, especially with what it actually means.

"Penny, if I may, where did you get that information?" Yang asked, tone flatter than a paper.

"Atlas data base, Mr. Ironwood let me explore it. He says sometime looking at your back is the best way to know where you are heading. He wants me to learn everything including academic knowledge and history, in fact right now I'm studying about social interaction and my daily routine is a part of learning"

Something is off about this girl and Yang didn't like it. "So you find it okay to search about your friends by your own?"

Penny tilted her head quizically "Why of course, is it not? I can stop if it's not okay" Yang about to say how it's not okay, how creepy it sounds, but before she could open her mouth Weiss suddenly grabbed her shoulder and said the exact opposite.

"No it's fine, just be careful with your source, some informations might be shady or overall wrong. That reminds me, did you find anything unusual?"

"Other than an unclear and incomplete status and history? Not really. I understand what you mean by being cautious seeing how incorrect it is" Penny glanced at Rot who shifted her weight between each legs.

She is not comfortable with this particular subject and a quick glance to her younger self was enough proof Ruby felt the same too. "Yeah, Ironwood can be a pain too sometime"

"Oh? Do you know General Ironwood?"

"Of course, we worked together a few time, I was his subordinate too before I decided to leave"

Penny gasped in surprise and took a step closer to the woman. "So you've been on Atlas? How could I never see you?"

"It's a long time ago, I'm sure you're not around yet" Rot explained with a smile, there was an underlying meaning behind her words and she was sure Penny caught it judging from how she suddenly hiccuped.

"R-right. Well, I'm sure he would be happy to meet you again, I heard he is planning to visit Beacon"

"The General is coming to Beacon?" Blake cut in, eyes wide as saucer. Millions possibility runs in her head, all revolving around her bleak past and what if Ironwood finds out, it's not just anyone else, it was _t__he _General, the man who holds the highest authorization of the biggest military in Remnant.

"Don't worry, Blake, he won't do anything not his business, I'll make sure of it" Rot promised the cat Faunus, those words were enough to ease Blake knowing she would do everything to fulfill it.

"Right, please do"

The woman nodded and turned around to face Penny once again. "It's nice meeting you, Penny" She barely able to stop herself from saying 'again' knowing full well it will cause questions. "But I'm afraid we must cut this meeting short, I still have matters to attend"

"Acknowledged, it's nice meeting you too" Penny smiled brightly, shifting her attention toward Ruby and waved her hand. "See you later, Ruby"

"Later, Penny"

After bidding their farewells, the team made their way from the area toward Beacon, once again drawing curious glances from people around them. The sun almost settled on the horizon by the time they arrived on Beacon's courtyard, blanketing them in an orange glow of dying light.

This time it was the Huntress who was leading, deliberately walking in a slow and leisure pace to stall the time and savor each seconds passing to enjoy each other's company at its fullest. Nobody knows what tomorrow has, it could be the last time they see each other in a peaceful state, it also could hold more surprises than what they prepared for.

Like the old saying goes; Yesterday is a history, tommorow is a mystery and today is a God's gift, that's why it is called present.

_The past and present are what define the future, thus one must be cautious with their gifts by looking at what has passed. Even God can be cruel enough to gift you Pandora Boxes._

_I was given one too many to count._

**_TBC_**

**So I see Volume 7 has been released? No major spoiler for me since I haven't watched it yet but I heard it was good? How long does it usually take for Rooster Teeth to uplift the exclusiveness though? Also in case you guys didn't realize they have uploaded the first episode of Volume 6 to Youtube after one _whole_ year.**

**Anyway, I think it is enough playing around and time to get down to business. From now forward we'll get down to the entire plotline, what will happen Rot has established her bond with her former team and younger self, pretty quickly I must add, and how it will affect the plot. I also planned to reveal more about RNJR in the next chapter, just to warn you guys.**

**_Responses for reviews:_**

_merendinoemiliano: _**Well, when you put it like that it actually sounds like future Ruby's only intention is to kick her friends' asses lol.**

_TheLastBatallion: _**Well bruh of course she is, just wait for another years and I'm sure people will think "Oh my God that Ruby girl looks dangerous with her giant weapon" instead of "Aw it's so cute how she squeaks when surprised. (I know because that is what in my mind whenever I see Ruby fight lol)**

_Luine Mercury LWG:_** I've sent it via PM, have you checked it? Also I'm an engineering student so forgive me overdoing it a little, a boy can dream what he can't achieve, doesn't he?**

_JackTheSpades: _**It's expected for sure, the only logical course of action considering how future Ruby succeeded defeating Salem. It would be off if some bunch of teenagers win against her. Didn't limit me from looking for different approach though ****and thus the intimidation techniques. Seriously if anything psychological warfare should be her main fighting style.**

**I'm still deepening her character even now, like I said there is so much you can do to it and honestly I love it when a character has this mysterious and unknown atmosphere around them especially the one bounded around their power or background story. To be blunt RT dragged it too long for my liking, they should reveal more about Ruby before moving on and introduces new characters, I'm not saying it's bad but I'm sure many people watching this show because they are intrigued about Ruby and her mother (one of them is me)**

**Thanks for your feedback, I've smoothed it how I address Rot and Ruby in this chapter. I've tried to make it clear which Rubys I'm addressing before by dropping hints here and there but it seems it still caused discomfort, but I will still address Rot by Ruby when she is alone without her younger self around. I do this in purpose to make my reader know this is stil the same Ruby we all know and not an OC I created.**

_Guest 1 (firewyrm 2): _**Which is also something we don't know exist on Remnant (or do we?). You know I originally planned future Yang's blazing sacrifice a bit more... Intense, by adding a WMD, namely a nuclear weapon, but went against it since I think it's a bit too much lmao.**

_Guest 2: _**Oh my that is entirely on me, I actualy meant million but got it mixed up. Thanks for the heads up I've fixed it now.**

**Anyway that's it for now, I'll see you guys in the next chapter and as always please leave your review.**

**Take it easy, guys.**

**Cipher032 out!**


	14. Chapter 14: A Necessity

**_DISCLAIMER: RWBY BELONG TO ROOSTER TEETH AND ITS ORIGINAL CREATOR MONTY OUM (R.I.P)_**

**Please enjoy and review.**

**Chapter 14: A Necessity**

Ruby hummed to herself as she stepped into the elevator heading toward Ozpin's office, drawing her Scroll nearby its terminal to confirm her identity before pressing her destination floor. She tapped her feet not necessarily impatient because for once the slow ride itself was enjoyable, providing enough time to stall for her good mood.

It was a rare occurance of course but given the circumstance lately she needed to take matter slowly, who knows what kind of bullshit would happen in the top floor and she would rather savor the moment as best as she could. She let her mind wander a bit in her moment of solitude, absently looking at the interface infront of her with indifferent gaze.

_Now what the hell did Ozpin do to have my ID clarified in the system?_

It should be impossible since she wasn't registered to any affiliation yet, at least as far as she know of, considering she had updated her data it won't match her younger self's, unless someone pulled a move and fabricated a false identity for her. A few days ago when she rode this very same elevator to Ozpin's office, to explain who she was and where she came from, was possible because Ozpin specifically let her in, this time however she didn't notify the Headmaster about her arrival at all and honestly Ruby only has half the mind to explain where she was heading to.

The initial plan was to visit Emerald Tower, had the elevator kick her out as an excuse for her AWOL and call it a day by sneaking out of Beacon with one of the Bullhead. Instead she had Glynda message her that Ozpin already has her ID registered to Beacon right when she about to bail, the other woman made a perfect sure in letting her know her stunt was not approved by giving a lengthy lecture she didn't even bother to read.

Glynda must had either Yang spilled the bean or eavesdropped them herself. No way the woman could find out purely from guessing.

Possible slip-up and creepy stalking theories aside, she still wasn't sure with what to reveal and not. To be exactly frank her after-action reports and archieves weren't that thorough, she still yet to fill in her last unofficial mission with RNJR and the outcome of that final battle against Salem with her not so new team...

Ruby paused, foot stopped from its almost nonchalant pounding against the metal floor. She grimaced and shook her head lightly to get rid of the unpleasant memories, sighing in defeat when she felt her hand trembled, almost instinctively she brought her other hand and clutched it to stop the shaking.

_"You both go on ahead, Ren and I will hold these folks out"_

_"We'll catch up later"_

_"Ruby, you have to finish this once and for all. For everyone who we've lost- No, for everyone we still have"_

Ruby blinked the tears threatening to fall from the corners of her eyes, wiping it against the sleeves of her Battle Dress. She took a moment of silence to remember Jaune, Ren and Nora, bowing her head in a silent prayer before straightening herself and replaced her mournful look with a determined one. She can't afford to appear weak, not infront of Ozpin or anyone in the matter. The last thing she wanted is for them to feel her burden.

The cramped, metallic and boxy contraption finally slowed down before it came to complete stop. Ruby put on her best nonchalant smile as the double doors slid open with a loud ding, strolling forward with little to no care to the occupants, at least until she saw who was standing beside Ozpin.

"'Sup guys- General Ironwood, sir!"

Ruby almost snapped a salute to the General, she only barely able to catch herself although the honorific came faster than what she could anticipated. A silent curse escaped her lips as she noticed her rigid posture before she forced herself to relax. It's not entirely her fault she has gotten accustomed to with military gesture especially near superior officers.

Ironwood just stared at her for a moment too long, ignoring the glare he receieved from Qrow across the room. The man seemed pissed he had his niece turned to a soldier, supposedly. "So this is her?" He asked Ozpin who nodded in affirmation.

"Yes, this is Ruby Rose. Or specifically the Ruby Rose who came from the future as she claims"

"Hm, she sure seems like a Rose"

"And this Rose can be adressed directly, General" Ruby declared with a hint of annoyance, apparently has recovered from her stupor. "You can ask me your questions"

"Right, my apologize, Ms. Rose" Ironwood walked on forward directly before her and stopped, looking at her with scrutinizing gaze. "I will rephrase it, you seem like your mother"

"Well, duh, I'm her daughter" Her response made Ironwood smile a bit.

"It seems you also inherited her power, and you also succeeded a feat nobody ever succeed before, at least from what I heard" He gestured toward Ozpin who calmly took a sip from his coffee, the Headmaster met her gaze before he replied.

"I took your advice and not telling anyone beside General Ironwood here, it's for the best as you said"

Ruby nodded, she had told Ozpin to leave other Headmasters out of the loop, fearing there might be a leak somewhere. More specifically she told him to keep Leo in the dark knowing full well the man was nothing but a traitor. But she also told Ozpin it's okay to let Ironwood know since he probably the most rational and reasonable one when it comes to military affairs.

"He still hasn't told me a lot of things too, like the fact he has a Rose as one of his student. If I knew beforehand I woud have you learning in Atlas under me"

Qrow growled and pushed Ironwood away, earning a glare from Winter who immediately approach the two in case her presence was needed. "You stay the fuck away from my niece, she is not some military property you can use as you please, and more importantly she has her freedom to choose and you won't take that away" He stepped infront of Ruby and scoffed. "Not under my watch"

"This behavior is unnecessary, Qrow" Winter reprimanded, still glaring at the man.

"Said the woman who plotted her sister to enter Beacon instead of the mighty Atlas Academy" Qrow replied sarcastically, taking a swig from his flask all the while glaring at the Atlas representatives present. "I told you Tai doesn't want anything with you Atlesian, he has had enough of you already and I can promise if you even so wrong to glance at his daughter he'll beat the shit out of you before you could even blink"

"Taiyang never tell us anything regarding her daughter, before Weiss Schnee enrolled to Beacon we have absolute zero knowledge of Ms. Rose" Ironwood argued, rubbing the side where his artificial arm met the flesh, the side where Qrow pushed him. "You should have known better that her power is essential in fighting Grimm, more so now knowing what she capable of"

"_Will_ capable of" Ruby interrupted but they ignored her.

"There is a reason why that man lives his life in an isolated island" Qrow gestured toward the general direction of Patch, apparently still not letting go of the matter. "He had lost so much in his life now all he has left are his daughters, so stay away from him. Or else..."

There was a dangerous glint in Qrow's eyes as tension rapidly built up around them, his threat was clear as he flicked his cape to reveal Harbinger on his back. In any other day Ruby would be fawning over the weapon considering how long had passed since she saw it but today wasn't any other day. Winter literally has her hand resting over her sword with deathly glare fixated to Qrow while Ironwood drawn his pistol from somewhere under his uniform, revealing the silver handle of his PDW but did nothing otherwise.

Ruby hoped she had Crescent Rose with her.

She left the weapon behind, planning to get it in her trip to the landing pads in her supposed leave but instead she stuck in what she now officially called Bullshit #1. Unfortunately Cleaver Rose was still attached to it too so she was completely weaponless.

Having fully geared in a normal day wasn't normal and she was sure the staff would notice her walking around Beacon armed to the teeth as if ready to wage a small war, so after much consideration she left her weapons and supplies and hope for the best. It appeared however Murphy's Law was more a bitch than what she thought.

"Can we have this stand-off when I carried a weapon? These fists pack some punch but they can't block bullets and deflect blade"

There was a brief hesitation on who she would side on in case the situation escalated, but she quickly decided she would help Qrow on this one. Military discipline be damned Ruby would rather fight alongside Qrow instead against him, knowing what he capable of and the fact he's a family to her.

And Ozpin... The asshole just sat there staring at them without a single hint of emotion. It's like he didn't care at all even though the possibility of his office being destroyed exist. Ruby scoffed at the idea and returned her focus toward Ironwood and his disciple, raising her fists with an exaggerated sigh of resignation. Between Ozpin's indifferent gaze, Winter's surprised look and Ironwood's unwavering stern glare she adamantly chose her Uncle's furious stare, at least the Hunter directed his anger to clear targets.

Qrow however eventually released a heavy sigh followed with a scowl, shoulders sagged down. His actions prompted the other occupants to relax too. He shot his adult niece a glance, seeing her defenseless was enough for him to let the subject go for the moment, although he's sure the woman could just flee if shit realy hit the fan but still he won't risk it. It didn't mean he completely brush the matter and made a silent note to address it later when they have another _alone time._

"Fine" He spat, drinking another portion from his alcohol supply. "I'll let you out of the teeth this time"

"Now you have solved your dispute, would you tell me why you're here beside the obvious?" Ozpin asked as he leant on his chair, gesturing towards Ironwood who proceeded to walk toward the holo-table infront of Beacon's Headmaster. He pulled his Scroll and synchronized it with the projector and a moment later a picture of certain scientist popped up.

"Arthur Watts, arguably the greatest mind in modern society" The general explained simply, fully aware none of them unaware with such information. "Also a traitor"

"Have you put him under arrest like I told you to?" Ruby queried, tilting her head questioningly to the man.

"No, unfortunately we failed to recognize your warning earlier and take heed from it. He has gone AWOL a few days ago after putting his workplace in shamble, destroying all his research data and most documents present. We can only succeed to recover small amount of it and amongst them is the security info about the place, more specifically communication logs"

"Let me guess, he had a contact with mysterious someone before he was gone? and you're still investigating where he exactly gone to?" Qrow said with a hint of sarcasm in his tone, pointing toward the display with his flask, seemingly disinterested.

"The recipient still unknown, but the message contains somekind of plan called Diminishing Light. We cannot determine what the content is other than its title"

Ruby's scowl deepened with each passing seconds, she stomped forward angrily to the display and glared at Ironwood. "I warned you to put him in custody didn't I?"

"We were unsure with the credibility of your warning and thus cannot take precedent actions, given how shady it was" The general explained to the shorter woman.

Qrow laughed dryly and took yet another swig of alcohol. "Wow, great job, the mighty Atlesian Military totally has the situation under control below its own rank. We can assure you everyone is working here by their own love for the Great Kingdom of Atlas, wholeheartedly, and I said that not because we have mole between us"

Ruby pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed deeply to ease her no doubt preliminary headache. "Qrow, did you scramble your brain or something?"

"Nah it's probably the alcohol, mofos got me stuck in a bar for a whole day yesterday"

"That explains a lot..."

Ozpin cleared his throat to divert their attention to him. He slowly stood up, cane in his hand as he paced back and forth before the holo-table. "What has passed shall be passed, yes it's unfortunate for such important individual like Mr. Watts to commit treason, and could we prevent it knowing he eventually would? Perhaps, but it's too late for it now" He settled his sharp gaze to Ruby, stopping his pacing in a rigid posture. "I would appreciate it if you refrain from going out without my consent, Ms. Rose"

The redhead seemed unfazed by this and casually shifted her weight from one leg to another as she replied. "You have no jurisdiction nor the power to keep me here"

_In other words you can go fuck yourself._ She would add but held her tongue.

"And what make you think I can't?"

"First of, I am not under any affiliation, not Huntsmen Corps, not any of the Academies and definitely not the Atlesian Military" She directed the last part to both Winter and Ironwood who respectively frowned. "Second I literally beat your crazy-ass wife alone after hours of non-stop fighting her minions, while I knew you've done similiar things before I was the only one succeeding such feat. If push comes to shove it would be either you or me who fall first, however considering how your power keeps dwindling you won't even stand a chance despite what people thinks of you"

They fell silent, quietly processing what she just said. Ozpin for once seemed conflicted as he curled and uncurled his hand on his cane. Finally after a bit more of awkward silence he spoke up. "You made your point across, but don't forget you will also be considered rogue. I'm sure you know how the government treat rogue Huntsmen"

"I _knew_ how the governments work and in extent their militaries" Ruby countered with a scoff. "If I decide to run you will never see me again until I show myself to the surface. Face it, none of you can control me, nor that I want to be controlled. I have had enough of Atlesian Military, I had enough of your bullshits and most importantly I have decided to take matters by my own account"

"But the only ones you care about are the children, am I correct?" Ruby fell silent, eliciting a smirk to grow on Ozpin's face. He knew he had hit the soft spot of her overall brash attitude. "Afterall that is your objective since the beginning, to ensure the future is safe"

She narrowed her eyes to him. "What is your point exactly?"

"Well, Ms. Rose. We could advertently provide each other's mutual needs, say firepower and intelligence, if we were to work together instead individually. You should have known by now that no matter how powerful one is, they can still be defeated with overwhelming forces and numbers"

_Quality over quantity but sometime quantity itself is a quality._

Ruby gritted her teeth knowing she had dug herself to a hole. "I have no problem fighting Grimm no matter how much they are, bunch of cannon fodders to me"

"No doubt about it, but what about other threats? those which actually have minds and souls cannot be affected by Silver Eyes"

"That's why I have my weapons with me!"

"You're being unreasonable. Ms. Goodwitch has informed me you're planning to leave Beacon, may I ask what for?" Ozpin held a data-pad up, showing Glynda's message to them. Ruby could make out the specific details where Glynda acquired such information and true enough it was because of Yang.

Glynda was nowhere to be seen but Ruby was certain she's teaching somewhere in the Academy. It's unfortunate RWBY stumbled with her.

"I was about to head out to Haven. Someone needs to step in and protect the Relic there, given that the Headmaster there is compromised" Ruby replied, shoulders sagged down and hands falling limp. In rare moment she showed how tired she was with the whole situation, earning a few look of sympathy from the others. "Listen, I'm sick of this whole defensive measure you so tenderly uphold. We need to take immediate action and strike first where it hurt the most"

"And you're going to do the deeds all by yourself?" Ozpin raised an eyebrow to her.

"I do what I think is the best, period. If you wish to assist me then be my guest, but don't you think you can hold me down from reaching my goals"

The wizard stayed silent for a moment, eyeing her with calculative gaze. Ruby didn't flinch when their eyes met and instead giving Ozpin the best determined look she could muster. Finally he dropped his act and strolled back to his chair. "In contrary, I do want you to help me. I must admit your tenacious behavior is what intrigued me, seeing where it brought you only consolidate the feeling"

"Then you must understand why I want to leave. I planned this mission to be not more than a few days, weeks at most, shall you provide me with transportation"

"Yes, of course. But first I want you to elaborate me how exactly you managed to defeat Salem, and what happened to the Maidens. Given the situation back then I understand you were holding back informations infront of the students" He typed a few commands on his desk and suddenly it exploded with various hologram displaying videos, notes and pictures. Display that was so familiar.

"You copied my reports" Ruby hissed, angered and top of all, betrayed. Just when she thought she could finally make amends with the man he pulled another one of his tricks and shoved it up her face. "When did you do it?!"

"The very first time you scynchronized your Scroll to the system, but that beside the point" Ruby was about to protest and point out _why_ that was a point when he continued, unaware with the way Ironwood fixed his collar in discomfort knowing Ozpin probably had the possesion of sensitive informations he so dearly guarded since he tapped to Beacon's system, or Qrow's smug grin to the general. "There is stated Atlas was under heavy attack when you executed your supposed final mission and nearly defeated after a whole week of fighting. What concern me the most however is the lack of report afterward, no mention about what happen to the team sent to confront Salem, or simply the after-action report"

Ruby, having mostly recovered from her rage, slowly exhaled to ease whatever anger she had left. With one last glare to the Headmaster she started to explain from the beginning, mindful with Ironwood's absence during the first revelation. "RNJR, or Ranger if you would, was a team we unofficially created shortly after the Fall of Beacon. It consisted of me, Jaune Arc, Lie Ren and Nora Valkyrie. The team was created to fill in the void our original teammates left, and possible due to our status as sister teams, thus granting us knowledge of ourselves without much trouble and therefore we could work on together properly"

"I understand JNPR lost Ms. Nikos, but what happened to RWBY?" There was a hint of sadness in Ozpin's tone when he pointed out Pyrrha, despite what people thought of him he actually cared for his students.

"We... Were in disarray. The Fall got us pretty good, and it affected us one way or another. My sister's loss of her arm delved her into a state of severe depression, Blake simply ran off thinking it was her fault the White Fang attacked us and she blamed herself for Yang's condition, Weiss... Jacques had her returned to Atlas, hoping he could keep her there to draw sympathy for SDC but ended up stripping her heiress status and locked her up"

In rare moment in her life, Winter's stoic face crumbled and was replaced with anger and hatred. "That old bastard did what to my sister?!"

"Ah, don't worry, Weiss actually has rebellious side too, she boarded an airship and snuck out of Atlas... Though I can't say she was happy we had to come back afterward" Ruby mumbled the last part and smiled sheepishly to the other Specialist. "I know you care for her, you better pull that stick out of your ass and stuck it somewhere else. You can't just act tough around your sister and hope she will understand the cruel world we live in"

Winter scoffed. "If I quit she would fall to the luxury my father provides and stop altogether from reaching out her dream, I simply teaching her how to react not so accepting to what people merely offers her"

"Give your sister more credits, she doesn't join Beacon just so she could flex her wallet" Ruby deadpanned. She returned her attention to the display and continued her monologue. "Things were getting complicated since then, our earlier hope to take shelter in Atlas was shattered when it was revealed Atlas wasn't very safe to begin with. At this point we already recovered the Relic of Knowledge, got a lot of friends and enemies on the way too" Ruby smiled at the last statement but it quickly faded to nothingness as she recalled the events following their battle in Mistral.

They should have sniffed it since long time ago that Jacques Schnee held more than what he showed. The man exploited Atlas' politic state to overthrown the government and asserted his control when Ironwood was in his most vulnerable moment. To be completely honest Ruby only tolerated the general because he was the only one reasonable enough in term of warfare, beside that he was just like other members of Ozpin's little cult; blind and sometime too receiving to what the Headmaster said, until the threat was close enough did he take an action on his own.

"Then what about the Relic in Atlas?" Ozpin asked her, earning another one of her unnerving glare. Her eyes were special, more so than just what they capable of. Under an exposure of light they will reflect the glint, giving an impression of them glowing. But somehow the effect was more prominent if the light was that of the moon, it made the silver even more visible.

She was glad she had tucked that one annoying locks of her hair to the back of her ear, allowing the world to see both of her orbs and how pissed she was.

"Is that all you care for? the Relics? your students were fighting your war, war that should not have happened had you taken an initiative to end it before it could begin" Ruby felt her Uncle's hand on her shoulder, the man was trying to calm her which only partially succeeded. Still, she forced herself to calm down a bit. "You don't know it yet but you already robbed them their future"

Ozpin bowed his head low and sighed. "I never have any intention to involve them in this. Alas, you should have known to win this war we must first secure the Relics, Salem must not acquired them by any means"

Ruby understood that, mentally scolding herself for losing her cool she then proceeded to continue her explanation. "Right. Where was I?"

"Something about having a lot of enemies?" Qrow suggested.

"Ah yes. So you see, we team RWBY finally resolved our problems, had the team back together and for a moment we thought it's gonna be sunlight and rainbow for us. Of course things went spiralling out of bullshit charts moments later until I was the only one left"

At this Ironwood decided to interject, earning a blank stare from her. "What exactly happened?"

"Has Ozpin not filled you yet?"

"No, he hasn't"

"I was thinking it's a sensitive information for you, Ms. Rose, so I let you decided on that one" Ozpin said to them.

"It's fine. You can tell him later, it's not like it gonna change anything" Ruby replied rather brusquely, ignoring the look of concern Qrow and Winter gave her. "Short story sort, my teammates all dead and I was back to my old unofficial team. That was how RNJR became official team later on, a renowned one at that" There was a sense of pride swelling in her chest at the last statement and she smiled a bit.

"I am aware you're capable of impossible feat, but please do elaborate"

"We were known for our daring actions fighting in the frontline where no other unit ever dispatched to, sometime to gather intels and sometime as support for the main forces or shock-troopers. It went coherance with our motto; _Sua Sponte_, but the troops had their own motto to us"

"And that was?"

Ruby's earlier smile turned to a full blown grin. "Rangers Lead the Way"

She always liked that one, it fitted her old team like a glove. The fact how true it was also increased the feeling she felt. Their presence worked as morale booster to the forces, many who knew them would be inspired by either of the members. Jaune in particular was known for his profoundness in strategy, many would follow him to the depth of hell without second guessing his command. However he never truly assume command of team RNJR unless she was incapable to because of reasons, saying she had the charm to make people believe without them knowing her past deeds first, she never thought it much.

"I see, to have such title bestowed to you it must be of great importance you've done"

"It's not just me, never was and never will" Ruby quickly said, all this talk about her former teams' achievements actually managed to put her in better mood. Of course everything must come to an end regardless it's good or bad. "However we were outnumbered and outgunned despite the combined effort the Kingdoms had, and slowly but surely we're losing ground and with it was our troops. When I was away with Team RNJR we were on final assignment to Salem's hideout, it's a suicide mission and considering the outcome it was nothing but true, a final act of defiance and desperation after years of fighting a losing war"

The memory was still fresh in her mind, for her it's just a month or so since that dreadful mission. The look of determination on Ren and Nora's faces as she and Jaune left them to buy some time, Jaune's final sacrifice killing a Kraken-class Grimm and then her final showdown against Salem. Who ever thought their life would end in the very same day on the same battlefield as their comrades.

"Atlas was in its final leg and we all knew it's the end-game. The Grimms were fiercer than ever under Salem's control and worst we couldn't do anything to stop the invasion, so we took off with hope to defeat Salem and free the Grimm from her clutch. In the end we succeeded and Atlas was safe, at the very least"

_Or destroyed for all I know_. Ruby thought bitterly, there was no way telling the outcome anyway.

"How did you defeat her? I thought she can't be killed" Winter asked with a hint of skepticism in her tone. The Atlesian Specialist had her arms crossed infront of her chest as she stood beside a rigid Ironwood who was staring at the display as if ready to murder someone, the general didn't like it when Ruby said Atlas was in its final stand against Salem's force and already he had formed many plans to prevent such outcome.

"I didn't. Some drastic measures must be taken to defeat her without killing her. Were it so easy to kill her Ozpin would have succeeded since long time ago, the only thing special about her is not her power whatsoever but it is her curse we must consider. Because of it she can't be killed, and the only available place to make sure she won't return back is the God of Darkness' endless Grimm pit, you just have to cut her limbs first"

Ozpin grimaced at the idea, straightening himself on his chair and asked. "It's not an easy task, we can't launch an attack directly to her hideout without sacrificing too much. No matter how strong the manpower is"

"That's why we take it slow and easy"

"How do you mean?"

"We take her followers down one by one, chipping her power until she was the only one left. That's when we'll launch all-out attack"

"Remarkable tactic but one problem; we don't know where her followers are" Ironwood cut in finally finding his use in the conversation. "We could send a team of Huntsmen or Special Forces to apprehend them but we're lacking the basic intelligence"

Ruby nodded understandingly and crossed her arms infront of her chest. "At least I have a vague assumption on the false Fall Maiden whereabout. But since I distrupted their ops in Vale she has gone dark along with Roman Torchwick. I could track them down but like I said the priority is the Relic in Mistral, first and foremost"

"Do you plan to bring it here to Vale?"

"For the best" She declared before gesturing toward Ozpin. "Also, your previous questions, the Maidens sans Fall were secured in Atlas along with the Relics so they're good. We've recognized their importance, you know"

Ozpin visibly satisfied with her answer evident with his relieved face. "That's good to hear, at the very least they're safe. However from the way you said it something must have happened to Amber, did they eventually succeed stealing her power?"

They stared at her expectantly, waiting for her answer as she gazed silently to the floor where a few hundreds metres down resided a helpless Amber. Ruby never know the woman, she never had the chance to know what kind of a person she was, it's all happened so fast back in her time she didn't have much time to process everything. The same could be said about Pyrrha and to this day it's still one of her biggest regret.

"They did alright, Cinder did. It's the very same night Ozpin was killed she stole her power and by extension killed her too" Ruby shook her head and glared at the Headmasters. "And no, I won't tell you who Ozpin reincarnated into"

As much as she liked Oscar as a friend, she couldn't bring herself to involve that boy in this conflict. He had a future, one that was away from war and death and she won't be the one dragging him down the mud.

"I see. Although it's very troubling such tremendous power to fall on the wrong hand, I must ask what happened to our false Fall Maiden? Did you defeat her by chance?"

That too, Ruby hoped she had the honor to but she never got the chance, maybe in this timeline she finally would. "No, Salem killed her for betraying her, but I wish I was the one to kill her. I have more... personal reasons" She added the last part in a growl.

Revenge, a familiar reason Qrow had accustomed to. He had more than one of such moments in his life along with self-loathing, it's not like he could easily hold a grudge against someone but considering his history it's a pretty common occurance. However he _would _never thought his sweet innocent niece could hold such feeling against someone, but it seemed even victory required a bigger soul to set the path alight.

"You said you want to go to Mistral and retrieve the Relic there? I'll go with you" He said sternly, leaving no room for argument.

"You don't have to"

"But I want to, I don't care how strong you are you'll still need help to locate the Spring Maiden"

Ruby chuckled somehow sheepishly, averting her gaze from her Uncle. "Well yeah about that..."

"Something the matter, Ms. Rose?" Ozpin interjected with clear concern in his tone. Last he knew the Spring Maiden whereabout was unknown, supposedly the burden bestowed to her was too much and she decided to run away from Haven's protective fold.

_Which, turned out not as safe as I though__t_ He silently mused to himself. _Oh Leo what have you done?_

"Well, you see... I kinda know where she was... At least the general knowledge, but..."

The hesitation his niece diplayed started to annoy Qrow. "But what?"

"But the problem is, she's the leader of Branwen Tribe"

Silence befell the room as its occupants minus Ruby processed the new information, The Crimson Reaper however quietly shuffled on her feet nervously waiting for their reactions. She had just dropped the bomb and somehow the result she recieved wasn't too far-fetched from what she expected.

"What the fu-"

"Ms. Rose, please tell me you're joking"

"Branwen?! As if _the _Raven Branwen?!"

"Not her, anyone but her..."

She quickly stepped in to defuse the situation, although she had to admit seeing Ironwood losing his cool was quite amusing. "Oh please... It's not that bad"

Predictably they stared at her as if she was insane.

"Let me get this straight" Ironwood began, gathering their attention. "The Spring Maiden, as we all know, ran away from Haven and somehow the Branwen found her then _somehow_ Raven got to get her power?"

"That pretty much sum it up, yeah"

"That itself is greatly concerning" The general added to Ozpin, it's unfortunate enough they lost the Spring Maiden in the first place now it was revealed her power was harnessed by none other than Raven Branwen, the leader of the infamous Branwen bandit tribe.

"Indeed" Ozpin agreed with a nod, he didn't say much but instead shifted his attention to Ruby. "However I need to know, Ms. Rose"

"Hm?"

"Does, by chance, Ms. Xiao-Long know about this?"

Ruby quickly scoffed then crossed her arms again, her expression morphed to one of controlled anger. "I haven't told her anything about this, if that's what you mean. I only got to spend a few days with them and most time I used it to train and advise them on how to use their powers better and to increase their combat effectiveness" She declared rather heatedly. "They think I didn't notice but Yang kept giving me a sad look whenever I mentioned something about the future, it's like the mere knowledge of what befell me is enough to tip her off. I don't need sympathy but most of all I don't want them to know what I've gone through"

"We are... concerned for your mental health" Ozpin said bluntly, scrolling through _her_ reports of various operations. Ruby knew what's coming and wasn't surprised when he stopped at that one specific report. It's slightly different than the others because technically it was Weiss's report Ruby downloaded to her Scroll.

In no chance did she have the capability to write her own, nor did she want to relieve that dreadful day.

It took Weiss a tremendous amount of willpower and self-control to finish the report and everytime any of them read it no matter how much it would have the same effects as usual; unbearable pain and sadness. It considerably _could_ be worse had Ruby included everything she experienced during her... Stay. But of course she never talked much about it to anyone so all they had in the report are just some medical examination both physical and psychological as references, even so it still made her skin crawl reading them.

"I am more than fit for duty" Ruby brushed the matter aside, hopefully they would get the message.

"I understand, but if you want to talk about it feel free to consult to either me or Glynda"

"I appreciate it" Ruby replied sincerely. She really did, but the chance was snowflake in hell. "If that's all then may I take my leave now?"

"Of course, thank you for telling us"

The cloaked Huntress merely nodded before silently disappeared down the elevator, leaving the room with 4 remaining occupants. Winter and Ironwood were discussing about Raven and possible way to apprehend her along with how much a threat she possesed but Qrow didn't care, he knew his _dear_ sister would fend them off by herself if Ironwood even so much to step on her territory and the idea was somewhat amusing yet concerning.

Ozpin meanwhile was back watching what he said was a recording of Ruby's match against the whole team RWBY two days ago. Qrow wasn't sure what the Headmaster wanted to gain from it but knowing him he probably had something in mind already. He watched as two white figures-courtesy of infrared display-crouched down near a bush conversing to each other when suddenly one of them stood up and promptly ate a face full of high-caliber round that sent them flying for a good few metres, drowning the other figure to a shocked panic.

Quite a firepower there.

Qrow sighed and fished his flask out, it's not noon yet and he already downed almost half of its content. Oh well, he could always replenish it later but first he wanted to ease his mind. Lately everything required alcohol for him. He already wasted himself for one whole day after his adult niece-that still tasted odd-revealed everything, it seemed like the world just crashed down on him after then.

Well at least they now know how to defeat Salem even though the method was... Unorthodox. But still, that's a silver lining in this thunder cloud.

"Oz, do you think we should relocate Amber?" Ironwood said seemingly finished squabbling with Winter, the woman stood at attention a few metres behind the general staring into nothing in particular, trying her best to ignore everything.

_Heh, nerd._

The idea his niece almost done the same disgusted him but he was glad Ruby managed to catch herself, he would rather choke on his own drink and die than to have his niece turned to some military lapdog. He would seriously murder Ironwood if that happened.

"I don't think that's a good idea. I know we risk a lot of things but with how unstable her condition is it would be better if we increase the security instead transporting her somewhere away, at least that way we're not entirely relying ourselves upon chance"

Qrow smirked and yawned, relaxing his stiff muscle before slowly making his way out. For a brief moment he caught Winter's unwavering gaze turned to a glare toward him but he merely shrugged and grinned.

"Well if that's all then I'll go now, have a plane to catch"

"Good luck, Qrow"

He waved his hands nonchalantly, stepping inside the elevator and sighed explosively when the metal doors closed. Now alone Qrow could release whatever stress built up in his thought. "Yeah, I'll need that" He muttered to himself, looking at nothing in particular with distant gaze.

_I'll need as much luck as I can get._

**_~_****_CONTINUE_**~

This... This was one of the reasons why she wanted to leave Beacon in haste, and she hated herself for letting herself on the receiving end of this consequence. If only her plans went smoothly this all won't happen, but alas she had to deal with it now. Sometime she couldn't help but think the world had turned against her and enjoyed showing its ugly rear while laughing at her suffering.

All things considered, she would take on any Grimm _any_ day than this... endeavour... Her younger self showed. Goddammit didn't she know she made things worse by giving that adorable sad face? Maybe she did know and did this all on purpose. And why the hell did they don't do anything?!

"You're going to go?" She heard the younger girl ask, somehow timidly, as she put on her ammo belt around her waist.

The sudden intrusion prompted her to stop briefly, giving Ruby the full attention she wanted from her. With a somehow forced smiled, Rot addressed Ruby. "Duty's call, kid, can't do anything about it"

They were all crowding in RWBY's dorm room, having just finished their lectures and back to their assigned quarter with ever so present homeworks trailing behind them. It wasn't supposed to be like this of course. They've told their goodbyes and wishes to her last night, thinking she would be gone by the next noon but instead they found the woman sitting behind their study table examining her weapons in last seconds check-up by the end of their classes.

The traitors, Yang, Weiss and Blake, were all sitting on their respective bunk beds staring at her with apologetic faces. But other than that they didn't do anything to ease Ruby at all, knowing full well how difficult it was to resist that puppy eyes she had at the moment. Seeing the smaller redhead however she couldn't fully blame them for it.

_Oh man_.

Thankfully, Qrow decided to make his presence known, giving Rot enough time to put on her remaining supply pouches and magazine holders. She never felt so grateful for his sudden appearance, seemingly out of blue it was.

"Hey, you never whine for me to not go" Qrow said, leaning on the door frame with a teasing smirk on his face. He gave Yang a nod of greeting which she returned with a small wave of her hand. "Don't you love me too?"

That last sentence earned him a good eye roll from Rot.

"Of course I do! I just know it you'll be fine on your own". Ruby paused and blinked innocently "Dad said you're destined to be forever alone, whatever that mean I don't agree with him though, you have me and Yang"

_That _earned him a laugh from Rot.

Qrow growled. "Sometime I think he's just an asshole to the heart"

Ruby didn't know what's wrong with that statement aside the _obvious, _merely tilted her head in confusion to her Uncle. "Am I wrong? I like to think Yang and I were enough"

Yang chuckled nervously behind her and mumbled something only Weiss and Blake could hear, whatever it was it's enough to make the monochrome pair stared at her as if she just swallowed a Fire Dust.

"Nah you're not wrong, it's just that old guy could be too cheeky for his own good" Rot chimed in between giggle, refering to Taiyang.

"I don't understand"

"It's for the best!" The woman clasped her palms together and smiled to team RWBY. "I have to go, I promise I'll be back in a few days or weeks and keep you guys posted"

"Please do" Blake muttered with a smile of her own, infront of her Weiss also gave the woman her wish followed by Yang always enthusiastic tone.

"Good luck"

"Kick their asses, sis!"

Rot grinned and turned her attention to her younger self, the girl was about to say something when she suddenly stopped and frantically looked around their many cabinets and drawers. "Oh! I almost forgot! I bought you this yesterday since I figured you'll need something to keep yourself preoccupied" She retrieved a brown cardboard box from one before presenting it to Rot.

"What's this?" The Huntress wonder out loud, playfully putting the box near her ear. "This is not somekind of trap is this?"

"Well, only one way to find out. Just like they said; nothing ventured, nothing gained. Open it"

Rot did just that, she pulled a section of the box open and was pleasantly surprised at what she saw inside.

"It's a headphones"

It had been customized for sure, the deep red color wasn't original and the silver symbols of Rose family on each of its sides weren't something a store sell. It seemed a lot like her old one except the glaring difference shade of red, it so deep it almost turned black, it would correlate well with her hair, she just knew it.

"Thanks" Said Rot softly, picking the item to examine it before sliding it around her neck. Ruby however failed to hear her, already entering one of her rambling fit. She said something about how she would love to lend her her headphones, why she could always borrowed it but since she didn't want to give her a second-hand one she decided to buy her a new headphones.

"... totally fine if you okay with it but-huh?"

Rot pulled her to a hug, effectively silencing her with the gesture "Kid, I said thanks". And in softer tone she added "Take care of the team when I'm away, okay?"

Ruby, finally processed the situation, returned the hug and buried her face to the woman's chest. "You take care of yourself first, you're the one about to embark into a dangerous mission not us"

"Won't be the first time" She patted the girl's back and pushed away, giving the rest of the team a meaningful look which only translated to one thing.

_Keep an eye on Ruby_.

"What, no hug for me?" Qrow teased, half-heartedly offering his opened arms to Ruby. She laughed and launched herself to him.

"Good luck, Uncle Qrow!"

With that they left the room, giving the girls a small wave of good bye and proceeded to Beacon's landing pad. The Huntress silently did a triple check on her supplies and gear to make sure everything was counted for when Qrow decided to address the elephant.

"She's grown attached to you" He said flatly, prompting her to sigh dejectedly.

"I don't know is that a good thing or bad"

Qrow nodded at that, his niece could be too clingy sometime. But the idea of her older self being her object of affection was greatly amusing to think about.

It also tasted odd in the tongue.

"You pack a lot I see"

Rot blinked, the question was so random she had half the mind thinking Qrow finally washed his head too much. "Uh, yes? I mean I need to store my supply and ammo somewhere that wasn't up my ass so I have to carry additional attachments. It's not like they can suddenly appeared out of nowhere"

Her answer caught him off guard, that's for sure as he stared at her rather dumbly before scratching the back of his head. "That... actually makes sense"

"Of course it does" Rot stopped on her track, squinting her eyes at a distant figure walking on a pathway, with her above average vision she could clearly made out who it was. "I forgot, I gotta ask Glynda something. You go ahead, I'll catch up in a minute"

Before Qrow even so much registered her words, she already disappeared in a flash of red and rose petals.

"What the fu-"

**_~CONTINUE~_**

_One of these days_ _I'm going to snap something in half instead of fixing it. Why can't everything be normal for once so I don't need to worry about everything just for one day?_ _Ozpin was right when he said this year will turned out interesting but I'm sure he didn't mean a whole lot of troublemakers... Or did he?_

Glynda paused, sniffing the air and frowned at the smell. Beacon's main garden was somewhere on the east side of the Academy so why did it smell of rose so suddenly? It's not the blooming season either was it?

_No, this is not natural phenomenon, something is not adding up here. The only sources of this smell other than actual rose are either parfume or-_

"Heyyyy"

_... Trouble._

Rot came to sudden halt infront of Glynda, dust and rose petals following her wake. The initial momentum she had created a rather strong gust of wind, blowing Glynda's cape to the redhead's relative direction of sprint.

Glynda fixed her glasses and scoffed. "Ms. Rose, I don't see any urgent matters that requires such actions around here, do you have your reason for the exceedingly needless use of energy?"

"Well, I'm actually on my way out from Beacon". The blonde woman opened her mouth to say something but she quickly added "I've spoken to Ozpin and he gave me the all clear"

"Profesor Ozpin does?"

"Yup! Isn't that great? Actually not really since I could have sneaked out myself" When Glynda's expression turned from a stoic one to pointed glare she knew she hit a sore spot. "Anyway, I want to ask you something first"

"Explain your motives" Glynda but all demanded.

"Yeah it's... Reasonable enough. It's about the theory of inter-dimensional travel as my way of transportation to this world"

"And why about it?"

"I need you to explain why time-travel is not the answer instead"

Glynda's expression softened significantly, catching the underlying hopefulness in her tone. "Ms. Rose- Ruby, as much as I want it to be true but time-travel is impossible for many reasons. I'm sorry, but this is not the world where you came from"

"But what if it is?"

"It is _not_" Glynda's tone was filled with sympathy, she didn't know the shuffling woman infront of her had a hope she simply back in time and was given the chance to fix her broken world. She definitely felt bad for being the one to extinguish that small flicker of hope. "Unless you can run faster than light itself, even then you won't just appear with considerably long period of time to the past. You said you were dead, correct?"

"Yeah, how's that relevant?"

"It's relevant because you didn't say anything about getting sucked into a Black Hole. Theoretically, gravity can bent space and time, creating anomaly that also _theoretically_ can work as time machine. However as we all know nobody in Remnant had ever traveled the star and the closest Black Hole is thousand millions of lightyears away from this planet. Of course, except you're killed for trying to jump into one? The outcome could be too unpredictable it possible enough"

"No, that's not it..." Rot fell silent, staring absently to the ground below, her red strand of hair obscured her face but Glynda could picture the dismay written on it. "I should have known to not get my hope high, guess it's my own fault" She softly said after a full minute of contemplation.

"I'm sorry"

"No... No it's okay. Nothing's change, I'll keep the kids safe no matter what". With a shake of her head she then addressed the Professor "Thanks for the time, Professor Goodwitch, I'm going now"

She was only on her fifth step when Glynda called her out. "Be careful and please give my regard to Leo"

"I will"

Rot disappeared in another shower of rose petals, leaving Glynda alone to reflect the conversation. The other Huntress was an expert in psychology at least to an extent, it's difficult to predict what she was thinking from the way she acted thus Glynda didn't realize her inner turmoil and she doubt she would had Rot not told her herself.

Glynda pride herself for her ability in reading and understanding people accurately by merely glancing at them, but this time she wished she was wrong, because from what she could tell Rot was hiding her true emotions under a thick mask of child-ish character, one that was not unlike the young Ms. Rose.

A part of her wonder did Ruby also implement the same tactic but she quickly discarded the thought. There were some differences between Rot and Ruby's child-ish antics, it's not possible the latter held somekind of buried emotions from everyone, especially not ones grating enough for her to bottled it up. It's just ridiculous, she was just too innocent to begin with.

_Right?_

**_~CONTINUE~_**

_Right, just my luck._

Qrow sighed exasperatedly, leaning against the bulkhead of their transport with his back. He had Harbinger stored specifically below his seat in a reinforced harness to prevent it from accidentally flying around in case of emergency but still within his reach in case of the _different_ emergency that required a lot of slicing and shooting.

_Just in case, you never know what's coming._

In front of him Rot stepped inside the Bullhead after arriving in yet another burst of her Semblance. He didn't know what to make of it, she seemed fond abusing her power like that, but then again one of few points he pressed on his niece was to utilize her Semblance more to its fullest potential.

Though this wasn't what he meant with fullest potential.

"Hey, why aren't we depart yet?"

That was one of his source of annoyance actually.

"Ask the pilot yourself" Qrow retorted a bit too harsh, he realized it soon and muttered an apology when Rot blinked at her in confusion.

He had to constantly remind himself it was his niece before him, and therefore didn't deserve to be the object to vent his anger on.

It's Ironwood's fault.

"Okay" The Huntress drawled, still feeling lost and uncertain. Rather to dwell on his words she decided to follow Qrow's advice and made her way to the cockpit. There she saw the pilot sitting behind various consoles, flipping buttons while mumbling something under his breath.

"Hold stand-by my ass, they gave all clear to these Atlesian dropships while I have to wait for them to finish whatever they're doing, what a joke"

"Pilot, status report" The man behind the control whirled on his chair to face her.

"Ma'am, traffic's busy we have to wait until Control gives permission for take-off"

Rot walked beside the pilot, glaring at the Radar display and the IFF signatures filling the screen. The sky was a buzz of activity with Atlesian dropships acting as Ironwood's security complement, he even brought with him his personal flagship.

"Is that _Bismarck?_"

"It is, Ma'am, along with her two escorts; _Scharnhorst _and _Gneisenau_. They're holding a few kilometres from the Academy so nobody spot her from this distance, I think General Ironwood personally ordered them to stay put"

The three massive signatures were easily visible in the Radar, the smaller ones which registered as dropships were like a swarm of wasps in comparison. The _Bismarck_ was one of Atlesian best Battleship-class airships, it's a rather new model with cutting-edge technology. She had personally seen her in action during a raid, at first she was skeptical when they said it had one of the most powerful main battery but when the ship succeeded to not just flatten the Grimm but also the surrounding area her opinion quickly changed.

The two sister ships weren't half bad either, there were only two _Scharnhorst-_class Battlecruisers ever built and Ironwood directly assigned them into his personal Battlegroup. That man knew how to pick his bodyguards.

"How long have they been like this? delaying flight requests I mean"

"Since the General arrived this morning, he had a full batallion of Marines deployed all over the school, you probably have seen those leathernecks back there"

Rot had, when she was on her way to Emerald Tower earlier she saw a few Marines talking with some security guards of Beacon but she didn't pay it much mind since it's normal for some Atlesian Marines to wander around Beacon especially with Winter present.

They stared at her and she stared back until they dropped their gazes somewhere else.

She didn't know Ironwood was this paranoid already.

"Launch as soon as you get the clearance, you have the destination briefed, right?"

"Yes, Ma'am. It's all on here" He tapped on a tac-map showing the continents of Remnant on his side.

"Good"

With that, Rot vacate the cockpit and returned to passanger area. Qrow was still sitting on his place, glaring at the floor with patience an excited Nora would have.

She settled down across from him and started to check on Crescent Rose for the fourth time that day.

"So?" He finally said after five minutes of silence, enough time for Rot to finish her examination.

Securing the weapon below her after making sure the safety was on she then replied. "Sky's full and I know you knew that, we'll depart anytime soon"

Qrow scoffed. "Damn Ironwood and his minions"

"I know you dislike his gut-" Qrow snorted dryly "-but you can't keep being so hostile toward him"

"I can and I will. I _despise_ his crude way of thinking, he believes everything can be nailed if you put enough force on the swing. He never thinks of how does the hammer fare when you hit a solid steel with too much force"

"Your point?"

"He never truly considers the result of his actions, how it affects people under his command. All he cares is the succession of his objectives" Somehow his scowl managed to deepen. "He succeeded persuading you to join him"

"Not really, I didn't exactly have much choices"

He wave his hand dismissively "Same difference. Do you know how many time we had to keep him away from Summer when he learned what she was capable of? He only stopped when your mom and Tai got married but even then I'm sure he would back pestering us had he known about you as Summer's child"

"Huh, you never told me that. Seems you would eventually tolerate him. He's a military man, they're taught to be resourceful, so to have someone with an ability to fend their biggest problem is an ample opportunity they won't miss"

"He didn't need to be such an ass" Qrow muttered. "I swear Tai wouldn't stand still having his daughter addressed like a weapon of war and I would love to see him punch Ironwood _again_"

The woman rolled her eyes. "General Ironwood is doing his best to keep Atlas safe. You might question his methods but its effective, sometime having the smaller dose of paranoia is a good thing for people"

"Why are you defending him?"

"I'm not, I merely pointing out that he probably the only one who has his mind right"

"Whatever"

She flashed him a warning look which he returned with a scoff, Qrow undersood he was being irrational so he didn't say anything back. Rot was about to change the subject when the Bullhead's VTOL engines whine to life, drowning them with background noise, with nothing else to do she leaned her head back and sighed contentedly.

"Strap in! We're leaving now!" The pilot shouted from his seat as the aircraft slowly rose and leave the landing pad.

_About time_.

"Later, kids" Rot mumbled to herself, peering from the closing ramp as the Academy slowly disappeared behind white clouds. With nothing else to do she slid her new headphones between her head, taking a moment to brush her finger on her family emblem on its sides and smiled softly, time to test it.

**_Ruby's album of awesome:_**

**_Green Day- Boulevard of Broken Dreams._**

_I walk a lonely road_

_The only one that I have ever known_

_Don't know where it goes_

_But it's only me and I walk alone..._

**_TBC_**

**Ah, finally finished this chapter.**

**I'm afraid I can't keep the previous two weeks basis upload schedule anymore, it'll take me almost 20 days to update. Writer block gets me pretty good sometime I would need 2 days just to make one scene complete but when I finally overcame it I usually manage to write up to 1k of words before taking a break for the day.**

**I've got exam coming next week, I doubt it'll interfere with this but whatever just a warning to you guys.**

**I don't have much to say but I want to address how Volume 7 goes, so if any of you haven't watch it please help yourself and skip these next paragraphs.**

**So first of, the outfits, I honestly dislike the new hairstyles especially Jaune and Ruby's. I have a feeling they are trying to potray Ruby as a bit more mature and Jaune to look like a badass but personally I think it killed their characters. As we all know Ruby always had this innocent look on her and the new hairstyle just throw that look out of the window where below an Abrams is having maneuver exercise and promptly run over it, it's not just destroyed, it's reduced to smithereens so small even Glynda can't fix it. And good grief don't let me start with Jaune!**

**The story for Volume 7 is decent enough so far, though some points are questionable but the only thing I truly dislike is how they add yet another new characters without deepening their previous ones first. Like, bruh I don't even bother to remember those ACE Operative fellas' names! Everything just happened too fast I barely able to register anything at all. Say whatever you like about Volume 4 and 5 but at least they're building pretty nicely to the climax that is Volume 6.**

**Responses to reviews:**

**_Lucian Naruto: _Well to be fair RT barely gives Taiyang enough attention in the main show, but don't worry I already have my plans on how Tai and Rot will meet eventually.**

**_Alank2:_** **As much as I hate to admit it those experiments played a big role in advancing mankind to where it is today. It won't justify their wrong doings but we can't deny the benefits either, technology-wise and medical-wise.**

**Nah, I would want nothing more but to have them together again but it's impossible now. It's just Yang reminiscing the simple time, unconsciously.**

**Thanks for the compliment, I appreciate it.**

**_Sm0keyPanda: _One of many downs in this story is the poor grammar I warned you guys in the beginning about, I really wish I had the perfect grammar but it sometime still makes me confused. I'll try my best next, bro.**

**_merendinoemiliano__:_ Soon, but not too fast. I still have many things to to write down first after this. Can't exactly just stormed Haven Acadmey or Branwen Tribe with guns blazing out of blue.**

**_JackTheSpades:_ Bruh what have you gone through to be so emotionless lol.**

**One of my focus is to develop the characters more because honestly the show doesn't give it enough attention and it frustrates me to no end. So I decided to fill in what they left out.**** Small details matters too.**

**Oh Leo will get what he deserves, alright. That guy is a definition of scaredy cat, betraying someone just to keep himself safe against the bigger power. Let's just see how it'll go.**

**_Guest (1)__: _Mimic? I can't find anything canonical about it, can you please elaborate? I don't want to put anything that isn't canon too much**

**_Guest(2) firewyrm2:_** **Well maybe she could, the probability of the exact materials needed exist in Remnant is quite high but we don't know about that. Just another small hole in the lore.**

**That concluded it, see you guys later and as always please review.**

**Take it easy guys!**

**Cipher032 out!**


	15. Chapter 15: A Soul Forever Haunted

**_DISCLAIMER: RWBY BELONGS TO ROOSTER TEETH AND ITS ORIGINAL CREATOR MONTY OUM (R.I.P)_**

**Please review and enjoy this chapter.**

**Chapter 15: ****A Soul Forever Haunted.**

To say the first few days of their search for Raven uneventful would be incorrect.

In contrary, they had encountered many trails left by the infamous Branwen tribe, but instead of joy all she felt was anger and disappointment seeing the destruction and desolation the bandits left in their wake.

Ruby should have seen that coming. She had to remind herself this was not the same tribe who helped her in occasions during the war, at least not yet the same. Right now they're nothing but criminals running around exploiting the weakness of others for their own gain, they had not yet felt the desparation that pushed them to side with the very same people they considered as enemy.

Still, the feeling of dismay she got caught her by surprise at some degree until the rage hit her and washed the precedent feeling. It's not without reason however, and it's not directed for the mere material toll for she had seen far worse a small town was indesputable. It was when she saw the first body did she _snap._

It was a kid.

A kid none older than 10 had her little stomach stabbed with a sword far too big for her tiny body.

Exactly on their second day in Mistral, the local authorities announced a small town on the eastern region was attacked by bandits and they required all available Huntsmen as security while they commenced relief plan for the survivors. Naturally they both agreed to help since she and Qrow were the closest one on the scene.

They arrived a few minutes sooner than the main forces but even so they were too late to help. Ruby found the young girl slumped a few metres from the town's entrance, laying on her own pool of blood with face frozen in pained shock and panic, eyes cold and empty like all other dead body she too many encountered in her life.

After that, Ruby spent the rest of the day helping wherever she could to recover and evacuate the remaining bodies and survivors in hope to distract herself from her anger. Not once she saw those who survived staring at nowhere with the same dead gaze, some had a flicker of hope that too eventully disappeared when the authorities brought back their dead relatives, some just completely dull as if they had joined the dead even though they're completely alive.

One of the former was the dead girl's sister Ruby found.

Seeing her reaction had Ruby thinking as a sister herself, had she seen Yang's death would she act the same? Screaming and weeping and crying _and_ wailing like she was the one dying? She never knew, maybe if she was on her right mind back then she would but all she felt was a cold and empty nothingness.

She never knew.

She hope she never going to find out.

That day was the worst day in her life. She almost had her eyes plucked out by a damn mad doctor and his oversized scalpel. Thankfully she managed to tear one of her arm free and shoved the knife down his throat on time and escaped, else she would be dead right now.

As dead as she could anyway.

Though the sharp tool left a deep scar on her left temple, but true enough to what he said, she didn't notice it until the blood trickled down her left eye and momentarily blind it but it's nothing sort of mere inconvenience considering her state.

But then something unexpected happened. Right when she was about to open the reinforced steel door acting as a barrier from outside world it suddenly exploded inward and almost clipped her head off, of course it missed but the sorry state of her body combined with the never ending dizziness and burning pain in her veins worked wonder to her and she ended up challenging a wall in a head-butt match.

The only thing she remembered seeing was a figure burning in golden fire standing in the doorway before she lost consciousness. After that everything just gone by, days passed to weeks and weeks to months until she pulled herself together and got her bearing back.

Ruby didn't know what to feel about that, she was glad she had not needed to see her sister's demise but she also sad the last clear memory she had about Yang was when they got ambushed with blood and dirt clinging on them like second skin. She also never got to apologize to Yang for making her worry sick because she simply never had the chance.

And then this whole fiasco happened.

It's difficult enough living with the memory of her former teammates, now she had to live it up again. She always put on nonchalant mask around them in hope to keep her inner turmoil at bay, a raging storm of myriad of emotions ready to explode the moment Ruby first saw them well and very much alive. Not once she thought to just spill the beans to her sister and friends, to just cry on their embrace while they soothed that everything's gonna be okay and nothing to worry about, Instead of what to fight tomorrow they could discuss what for dinner and other trivial boring stuff she missed so much.

But she refrained, knowing very well everything was not going to be okay unless she stepped down herself, that her sacrifice was more than required to ensure it. The future needed to be secured, and nobody more suitable than her to keep it safe.

_If you want things done right, you have to make sacrifice._

Ruby snorted, gaining a look from the bartender the counter she was sitting behind of. "Something the matter, young lady? Was it the drink?"

"Ah, nah it's good, I was just mulling something"

"Well you have to excuse me, it's a bit unusual for someone to order Atlesian Vodka at this time of the year. Stuff's usually popular during winter"

She hummed and casted him a small smile, taking a full shot of her drink before pouring another. The man didn't ask her anything more and she was grateful for it, she never good dealing with strangers anyway.

The bottle had been emptied to its half yet she hadn't got tipsy at all. As expected her Semblance neutralized it before it could affect her even though she's not using it, at moment like this Ruby felt more annoyed than anything because she wanted to _forget_.

To forget the horrible sight of the deads, to forget the horrendous past chasing her. She simply wanted to relish the feeling of unberdened soul but even that she wasn't allowed to.

Ruby took another swig.

At least the burning sensation was pleasant enough, maybe that's why she prefered the drink specifically.

The bar wasn't anything fancy at all, just a small shop in a small town it barely significant in the vast Kingdom of Mistral. Though the quiet was welcomed, a quality itself more famous bars didn't have and personally she liked it that way.

Soft glow of orange light illuminated the place, glinting back at her reflection on the clear beverage. Ruby stared at herself for a moment, realizing the lone trail of tear on her left eye and hastily wipe it with her palm. She had her hood drawn on her head, obscuring the outside view and isolated her from other customers sitting on their respective tables, it also shielded her face in addition to her strands of hair.

Nobody noticed it, thankfully.

Despite not having her eyes directed anywhere on her back, Ruby was fully aware with her surrounding, keeping utmost attention to her senses and mental probbing for Aura. Right now there were eight other people not counting her and the bartender, three on her seven and nine o'clock sitting under the windows and four on her six huddling in one table laughing too damn loud for her liking.

A quick glance confirmed she was the only female present. Earlier there was a waitress serving the customers but Ruby supposed her shift had finished, it's almost midnight afterall and no girls wanted to walk home alone in the middle of the night.

Except her.

Ruby gulped down her last portion of Vodka and frowned, thing failed to even sway her and its frustrating to say the least. If only she had unlimited access to it like she did back in her timeline she probably would drown herself again.

_Oh well_.

She was about to order another batch when the bartender suddenly paused drying a glass and glared somewhere behind her. "Careful, trouble's coming" he grumbled to her with his gruffy voice.

Not long after he finished his sentence, someone suddenly plopped down beside her, swaying and pretty much wasted. "Oi mate! whaddya think ya are doin'? Ain't ya see the lady's drink over 'ere empty? do your job will ya?" What followed later was a string of gibberish neither Ruby or the bartender understood, but between trying to comprehend his words and giving her another drink the bartender wisely chose the latter and gave her another bottle, after figuring out she still capable to handle it of course.

He would be surprised.

"Thanks, but I don't need someone telling me what I want" Ruby said harshly, already in the middle of downing the fresh alcohol. She was glad her Uncle was not present, he probably would die from shock seeing his niece drinking alcohol like it's a juice.

The drunkard shifted, accidentally knocking her side. Ruby fought back an urge to punch him to kingdom come, knowing she could get him killed and the last thing she wanted was being charged for manslaughter.

He hadn't realized how close he was to death yet.

"Y'know... Me and my pals spent our ev'ning tryna figure out your gender 'till I decide to say fuck it and 'pproach you directly, and I'm not disappointed to find out you're a girl"

Ruby knew where this conversation going and she hated it. "If you're not dumb and drunk enough you probably would have figured it out sooner"

He guffawed, the smell of alcohol was strong from his breath even after downing a bottle of Vodka Ruby could still tasted it. She made a disgusted face and leered at him from the corners of her eyes when he kept on talking. "You shoul' put the blame to this damned hood ya 'ear!"

His hand moved out to grab her hood but Ruby intercepted it with her own. "I wouldn't do that if I was you" She growled menacingly, increasing the pressure on his wrist to make her point across.

Her actions made him paused for a second, through her peripheral she could see the bartender silently picking up her glass and the Vodka from the counter. Ruby also aware the man's _pals_ had gone silent from the whole ordeal.

"And why's that?" He challenged, this time his other hand moved to reach her.

_Wrong move._

In a flash, Ruby quickly twisted the appendage on her grip, gaining a pained scream from the man. Before he could register what happened she already drove a weak punch to his face -mindful to not accidentally kill him but still strong enough to leave an impression- and smashed his head to the counter, he didn't have time to recover before Ruby threw him to the ground and held his arm into an armlock.

The other occupants stared at her, clearly shocked especially the man's so called friends while the bartender just sighed.

"You bitch! What do you think you're doing?!" One of them yelled.

"Do you know who you messed with?! Release him and we'll let you out alive" Followed another, brandishing a dagger from his hips. His friends followed his example and quickly pulled their own weapons, and not long Ruby was faced with three people holding swords and a dagger to her direction.

_Should have brought more_.

"Gentlemen, as you can see over here your pal is not in a very good condition" Ruby twisted the arm she was holding a little bit to garner another scream, emphasizing the meaning of her words. "As a Huntress with years of experience in field I diagnosed him having a syndrom called dumbfuck, and what you see here is one of the symptoms, please take a note broken bones is the small outcome and it can get worse if left untreated"

"I'm sorry! please it hurts-" The guy she was holding begged but Ruby cut her off by pressing a boot to one of his cheeks.

"Shh, you shouldn't talk". And to his friends she added "Now you can just walk away-the exit is over there by the way-and spare the bartender from a headache of cleaning blood from his place or we can help rearrange his shop, who knows maybe he can get a stray tooth and call a tooth fairy to grant him his wish when we're finished"

They seemed to hesitate, whether because of her threat or the realization that she was above their leagues was unknown and honestly Ruby couldn't care less. She could deal with these idiots any day but something she learned first was to avoid needless conflict, first and foremost.

Beside they were drunk and won't pose any much challenge anyway.

Thankfully they could still see reasons through their hazy mind, probably self-preservation taking control, and slowly lowered their weapons although their angry gazes never changed on the slightest. Good, another clash prevented without her needing to draw Crescent Rose, she needed to make personal achievement based on that.

"Good to know we can make an agreement" Ruby chirped with fake enthusiasm, she pulled the man under her seize to his feet and let him go. However he was only on his second step when Ruby caught his shoulder, effectively stopping him in his track. "On the serious note, when someone warns you about something you better take heed, it might save your life"

He hastily nodded, ripping himself free and practically skipped to his friends all the while clutching the arm Ruby previously held. Now back with his flock he regained some of his confidence and turned one last time to her with fury burning in his eyes. "You'll pay for that!"

That was expected, so Ruby merely stared at them unimpressed and replied flatly. "Looking forward to it, fair warning you better bring more of your pals next time"

Their replies came in a lot form of profanities Ruby sure her younger self would die from embarassment hearing it but it's just another day for her. Still, she glared at them until they vacated the bar to make sure they won't try anything funny before returning her attention to her drink.

Or the lack of it.

"Right, sorry" The bartender apologized and brought her drink from his safety. "This one's on the house, those nuisances already been here for few days and had caused me more headache than a week's worth"

"A few days?" Ruby asked, pouring a shot and promptly took it in one swift motion, she sighed at the familiar sensation flowing down her throat.

He grunted in confirmation and narrowed his eyes to her. "You said you are a Huntress, is that why you can so casually down those? Not to be rude or anything but I've seen a few Huntsmen crashed after taking not even a bottle of that stuff"

"Oh this? Yeah people said it's too strong for their liking but it took me around 8 or so to start feeling tipsy, that if I refrained from using my Semblance anyway"

"E-eight?! Why do you even bother then?! And what would happen if you use your Semblance?"

"Well, I like the taste and the sensation it brings, as for your second question let's just say my Semblance would neutralize the effects alcohol has to someone"

Thank God her Semblance only rapidly burned any foreign materials her body wasn't used to have like white blood cells to bacteria and disease, else she would require massive amount of carbohydrate just to live. Her Uncle once said everyone's body was special depending on their Aura, Yang's for example could withstand heat from the fire she emitted, the very same fire that can burned anything in 2 meters radius to crisp that wasn't accustomed to her Aura.

That was one of her Aura unique ability, apparently if something hasn't been exposed to it for a certain amount of time it won't survive initial contact with her Semblance but if it has then nothing would happen to the said something. In the future Yang could control who she chose to be immune to it by sending a small burst of her Aura to that someone and left it to the person's body, and in case she wanted to take back that immunity she could 'denounce' the person by absorbing her lent Aura back, an action that can be done mentally and physically by her.

Basically her sister could leave a piece of her soul into people she trusted, and everyone in Team RWBY and JNR had that small piece of her soul with them. The fact Ruby could still feel the warmth of Yang's golden fire within herself wasn't lost on her, whenever Ruby felt like everything was just too much that small flame would increase in intensity and comforted her to keep on going, not unlike the warm of Yang's embrace.

Even in death Yang still looked after her sister.

It didn't help everytime Ruby got so far an arm distance with mini-Yang the fire would fluctuate as if to remind her that the person next to her was indeed Yang, the rightful owner of the blaze. It confused Ruby because for all she knew one's soul cannot be fooled or replicated, which meant this Yang was the same Yang from her timeline minus the experience and growth her sister had. Artificial Aura was one thing, but this? does that mean Ruby too shared the same soul with her younger self here?

... She took another shot.

**_~CONTINUE~_**

"Where do you think you are going, young lady?"

Ruby sighed.

She was half-way closing the door of their inn when her Uncle called her out from a chair on her left, looking all pissed with his glare, the very same glare he had when she usually did something wrong as a kid.

"Qrow, it's 2 in the morning, why are you not sleeping?" She started, taking her hood off and placed it on the armrest of a couch in the middle of the room before crashing down to the said couch, followed with a contented grunt as she buried her face to its soft cushion.

"I should be the one doing the asking, where the hell have you been while I'm away?" Qrow settled down on the other couch across from her, staring her right into her closed eyes. He leant in forward and sniffed the air before scowling. "Did you drink?"

"Uh-hmm"

"Are you drunk?"

"No, and it's suck"

"How many?"

"Ah, I think 5 or 6 bottles of Atlesian Vodka? I lost count after my fourth"

Qrow fell silent for a moment and Ruby could imagine him looking at her dumbfoundedly. "You're gonna die from kidneys failure" He finally chose to say.

"Said the guy who drinks alcohol on daily basis" Ruby countered, not exactly liking how her Uncle basically scolded her while being a hypocrite himself. She cracked open an eye to met his gaze "So have you found anything?"

"Yes" Ruby perked up, pushing herself off the soft and comfortable cushion and sat straight, what he said next however served to kill her spirit. "Now I know the populace is as helpful as an unshielded candle in the middle of a storm"

"Qrow..." Ruby growled, not exactly liking the way he delivered his point. "You can't blame them for not knowing anything"

The Hunter scoffed. "They don't need to be such an ass about it. What about you though? Did you find anything interesting?"

"Hm? Other than almost punching someone to death and thrashing a bar nothing at all" She paused. "Okay I did punch someone but it's because he was an idiot and nearly got his hand on my beloved cloak" Ruby patted the aforementioned cloak on her side to emphasize.

Qrow chuckled at that, earning a confused look from her. "Now that brings back memories alright"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, Summer once hospitalized a guy with her punch after he so stupidly pulled her cloak in a bar, to say she was fuming would be an understatement" He crossed his legs and leant back on the couch, a small content smile visible on his face. Ruby had long understood what that smile meant, his Uncle and dad always had that smile whenever they talked about her mother, she supposed it's a reminiscence smile remembering the simpler time.

She could relate on that.

"You said mom hated alcohol"

At this point Qrow already understood which him she was refering to. "Who said she was there for a drink? She actually came to drag me and Tai from our little _bonding_ _moment_ back, of course we resisted but after seeing her incapacitated a guy twice her size with single strike we relented, suddenly the thought of hanging around was shoved to the most back of our minds" He shook his head lightly, smile turned to a sad one. When he continued his tone was all somber "You know, your mom could be such a pain sometime, and a bit unpredictable too, one time she could be that soft girl who seemingly too nice to even hurt a fly and the next she suddenly became the badass you can only dream of becoming"

Ruby listened to his tale intently, she always loved it when her Uncle or father or even people who knew her mother talked about her admirable actions and past. This one story specifically she hadn't heard from her Uncle before, and thus she tried to remember every details he said while mentally picturing the situation.

She imagined her father and Uncle stared at her mother with their jaws on the floor, along with other anonymous people who happened to be on the bar that day, while her mother still had her fist raised from punching the poor bastard. Their dumbstruck expressions turned to terror when her mother shifted her attention to them before dragging them out the bar by their collars all the while they both screamed like little girls.

Ruby chuckled. "That's the infamous White Death for you"

Qrow was visibly taken aback. "I told you about her old nickname?"

She hummed in affirmation. "Originally gained during a mission with team STRQ after she single-handedly killed an entire Grimm nest in a remote town on northern Vale, but made famous when her team with the help of others fended off a large Grimm invasion in the city of Vale in what known as Operation Clean House. After-action report stated she killed 30% of the invading Grimm alone, mostly by petrifying them"

"That's a lot you know about"

Ruby shrugged, her reply was simple. "I had had my source"

Silence reigned on the small living room, the ticking of the clock was suddenly became so palpable along with the sound of small animals outside. Qrow was left to ponder on who exactly responsible for telling his niece about that particular nickname his late partner had, and not surprisingly Ironwood's name was on the top of the list.

First on the list.

A small thudding drew his attention back to Ruby, only to find the young woman lying on the surface of her couch, head sandwiched between its armrest and her arm, covering her eyes and face as she breathed in and out slowly.

"Hey, if you're going to sleep then sleep in your room. I can no longer carry you all the way there, you know?" Qrow began jokingly, but when his niece kept on quiet he knew something was wrong. "Ruby?"

He waited for one whole minute, then another and another, when Qrow thought Ruby had fallen asleep for real she suddenly spoke up with cracking voice, catching him off-guard.

"Have I told you how tired I am? To this whole situation and generally everything?"

It's a rhetorical question, he knew that much so Qrow didn't answer. Still, staying quiet seemingly wasn't the best option either. "Something is bothering you" It wasn't a question, but more to statement.

"... I'm fully agree with people when they say I'm mentally scarred. I learned about psychology for a while and I can tell a damaged soldier when I see one, and I'm one"

Qrow wasn't ready for this, he's not the one suitable to speak about this matter. "Rub-"

"I never got used seeing the carnage human and Grimm alike left behind, I just tolerate it"

So it was that. About that one village which perished under bandit attack a few days ago.

His niece was rather adamant about it, how she pushed herself almost non-stop in searching any survivor that day. He had to admit the sight was a disturbing one, dead bodies littering the ground, some Faunus some human, an indiscriminate killing by the Branwen Tribe. At one section he found a group of people killed in a perfect line, an indication of execution added by the precise shot to the head that killed them, but having an extra hole in your head seemed a far better choice than some whom lost their head entirely or those burned alive, amongst other gruesome death.

Qrow was disappointed to what Raven had done, and he could say Ruby was too.

"We... Can't change what has transpired" He began, leaning forward on his seat all the while keeping an eye to the woman infront of him. "That's what I'll say at moment like this. But the proof you are here talking about what had happened-or rather-what will happen threw the phrase out of the window. I can't even fathom the burden given to you, to fix a whole planet and its occupants' destiny all by yourself"

Ruby laughed a short bitter laugh. "Believe me, I don't fully understand it too. Mom warned me about this, he offered me the option to quit and she seemed... Supportive to it. I supposed she had better knowledge about this matter afterall"

"She had gone a lot, I assume you know her tale?"

"Not all of it, but more than enough. I did a bit of tracing during my spare time when I didn't shoot on terrorists or petrifying Grimm, and was actually succeeded to locate the old household of Rose family here on Mistral"

That gained Qrow's attention, he never knew where exactly Summer's origin house at since she was very discreet about it, the idea of visiting the place that once owned by the greatest Huntsman family intrigued him but it could wait. Else he would getting out of topic here.

"Then you must understand not everything is meant to be fixed, that some things are unchangeable" He paused, realization slowly dawned on him. This Ruby is different with _his_ Ruby, the woman infront of him was a Huntress and war veteran to heart, meaning she had gone through worse than what they had witnessed a few days ago. As terrible as it was, it should be nothing compared to the war she fought. So why did she all of sudden become like this? After days of showing nothing but steely visage and undying resolve in her eyes she suddenly just broke down?

_Unless..._

Unless something she saw in that town triggered an unpleasant memory, another episode of PTSD perhaps? Afterall Ozpin did say she probably suffering a mental illness, and while he knew so little about it Qrow understood the weight of it, that sometime it could be more lethal than physical wound.

_Dammit!_

He continued, this time slowly as he felt the need to tread his word carefully. Qrow figured he had to urge her to open up about this matter to understand it better. "Assuming this is not alcohol talking, you actually been bothered for quiet a while now"

"Yeah it's... Actually been weeks, since I first saw my friends on Vale, long before I revealed them myself" Ruby took a deep shuddering breath, her lips trembled as she spoke again. "Blake, Weiss... And Yang. God I missed them so much it feels... It feels like I am whole again when I see them. I hadn't felt that happy in the last five years even the victories that saved hundred thousands if not millions didn't bring me that much of joy. I know I'm being selfish but..." She trailed off, sniffed and said one thing Qrow dread the most from her.

"I'm scared, Qrow"

She was openly crying now, tears streaming down her closed eyes as she sobbed and whimpered silenty. Her arms were wrapped around her body in an attempt to comfort herself, she looked so small and frail without her cloak covering her.

Suddenly the image of a great Huntress who managed to fight titans and prevailed vanished from his mind, instead a little girl no older than 4 year old replaced it, the very same girl this Huntress was years prior when she learned that her beloved and strong mother would never return to hug her and tuck her good night anymore.

The very same girl he had to comfort when her father himself broke down too.

"It's hard enough to live with the memories of my friends, now I have to live with them again after everything that happened. The idea of distancing myself from them was so tempting, but I know they will find a way to connect with me" There it was, the small fleeting warm inside her chest, coming from Yang's piece of soul. For a brief moment she relished the sensation, mentally thanking her sister before continuing "They looked so young, so boisterous and positive to the world they hadn't been tainted by its worst. Everytime I see at them, glance at them, all I see is a promising future and that is enough for me to keep on marching"

"Worst of the world?" Qrow asked, the way she said it, it didn't sound like she was refering to Grimm or a bunch of scroundels and villains.

"It's... Shocking. We joined Beacon to be the greatest protector of mankind, the knight in the shinning armor, the sword and shield of humanity and the hero everybody wants to be" Those words were spoken in a hollow and empty tone, as if it no longer had any meaning. The idea of becoming a hero was left somewhere in her trail, never to be found again, it's so far and distant from where she was now. "The World of Remnant has a lot of fairy tails, some people even interpreted it as a fantasy land or wonderland because of it. Those who believes it as one is either a naïve kid or a madman, for there no rainbows and flowers in this so called wonderland, only death and destruction"

"How is this relevant?"

"It is relevant because if this information ever break out to the public there will be chaos and chaos brings Grimm and more destruction" Ruby said matter-of-factly. "Do you know why this planet called Remnant? Long time ago when The God of Darkness exterminated mankind, humanity left one of their biggest gifts when they're gone, a power now no longer exist amongst us"

"Magic..." Qrow muttered.

"Yes, magic. Back then magic is a common occurance in daily basis, a power to wield wind, fire, ice and many other natural forces, was a part of humanity. Until that one faithful day when Salem influenced the whole mankind to oppose the Gods" Ruby wiped the tears leaking down her cheeks, her eyes hardened as she recalled what they unveiled. "Human, as arrogant and reckless as we are, thought that by killing the Gods we will achieve something. But it's not power or glory we got but extinction, wiped to dust by the very same being who gave us the power to wield magic. And that power, such great force, wasn't easily neutralized to nothingness. When the body of its owner turned to dust, they remained dormant in those small particles, flying along the wind until one day they finally gathered to one place creating a bigger form, the crystal we know as Dust"

"Hold on, are you saying all this time we are using the carcass of our dead ancestors as weapon?" Qrow asked, more than a little shocked.

"In a way, yes. Nothing about Dust screams natural, piece of rock that can explode or freeze anything nearby it?" Ruby shook her head. "Mankind had been using magic to fight Grimm, when we had it we flourished and prospered in this planet, hunting Grimm to the deepest corner they became afraid of our presence. But when that power was gone, the table turned against us, we are the one on the hiding and we are the one fearing them instead, until we stumbled on the piece of hope that ironically was the reason why we are like this; Dust, the byproduct of a power once gifted to us and also the remants of mankind's arrogance"

Her gaze was empty as she stared at the ceiling, what remained of her tears glistened on her silver orbs furthermore reflecting the world around her. "It's called Remnant because we live in a place of a former glory of what it was, a planet full of death we have to force children to fight so they could survive in it. This world is anything but wonderland"

Qrow blinked, he was still processing the information he receieved when that particular sentence hit him. "It's uh... Necessary... Many great Huntsmen were children when they first kill a Grimm, you should have known since you are one of them"

"So is many great Huntsmen were children when they get killed" He opened his mouth as if to say something but close it again when nothing came out. It's a fact so Qrow had nothing to say about it. "I lost count how many time I cried myself during my stay with my former team-this team-in the bathroom. I honestly don't know what to feel about it, sometime I cry because of how happy I am, sometime because of the pain seeing them again. In the end I simply chose to ignore the reason and lock it down. But... I can't help but be remembered on the days my teammates died whenever I look at them"

Yang's golden blaze as she looked at her hazily on her verge of consciousness, Blake's purple casket as it slowly lowered to the ground, and the worse of all Weiss's bloodied and broken body as she raced down snowy mountain in desparate search for help, always appeared on the front of her mind whenever Ruby looked at them. She barely spent any time with Team JNPR knowing the mental burden would be too much, considering their death only a few weeks ago minus Pyrrha.

Pyrrha...

Pyrrha was the worst.

She was one of their reasons fighting against Salem, to avenge her needless death. But now after Ruby managed to defeat Salem she didn't know what to say about it, so she stayed silent and never mentioned it to any of JNPR or RWBY. Of course she gave them a few advice here and there especially to Jaune but it still limited to what it was, almost like a formal teaching than anything.

She hated herself for that.

"After all these years all I've truly got left is Crescy here" Ruby patted Crescent Rose on the floor, when she put it down there was a mistery. "Almost lost her in several occassions but she always returned back to me"

At this point Qrow had settled to just listen, he didn't know what to say anyway so he offered her his attention, which was something Ruby needed it seemed. A place to conveyed her heart content into, not someone to show her a pity for her conditions.

So she talked, she rambled on about how screwed the future was, how many she had known about Rose family so far, about Salem and Ozpin, and other informations no common people possessed. Qrow kept on listening until her voice slowly faded to a light snore and her troubled look to turned into peaceful one before giving his reply.

"I'm sorry, kid" He kneeled infront of her sleeping form, brushing a strand of hair out of her face and wiped any trails of tears left. "You're more like your mother than you think, I hope you won't feel the pain of death and abandonement but you did, just like your mom, but instead of giving up to it you fight on so others won't feel the same like you"

He grabbed her discarded red hood, thumb gracing the faded letters on its collar, suddenly became aware with the weight of his own cloak on his back. With a sigh, Qrow draped it on Ruby's sleeping form as impromptu blanket and soundlessly left the room.

He was in the middle of the halway when he finaly broke down, leaning against the cold concrete wall with his back. But as always, the cold never managed to penetrate the piece of garment that was his cloak, a cloak once belonged to Summer.

A cloak that was his sole companion during lonely journeys and missions, an object of reminder that his partner and fearless leader would always be with him, that he still had deemed it he needed to keep the one and only gift Summer left behind safe, one that was a part of her.

Ruby.

The girl, apart from being his niece, was Summer's child, and that was enough reason for him to dedicated his life to keep her safe. Her mother was one of few people that changed him from a mere killer to who he was now. Before Qrow attended Beacon, his only reason to live was to ensure the Tribe's succession even by killing others. He had ravaged, destroyed and took countless live, all of it under the name of Branwen Tribe, and with his sister they managed to pull countless successful raids no authorities capable to stop them.

That was until on his 17th birthday, their camp was under attack by _one_ Hunstman that he felt his first loss.

Although his perspective of that day had changed, he would never forget how everyone around him was slayed so easily. He thought he was invincible, those who survived on the battlefiled for a long time often thought so about themselves, but the way that one Huntsman killed the bandits was just terrifying.

And then it was decided, what survived of the Branwen Tribe, that in order to acertain their further survival they would need someone to counter the Huntsman Corps continous assault to their community. It was rather precedented for Qrow and his sister to end up being the chosen candidats, two healthy and talented children directly from the head family of the tribe leader.

It didn't help the rumour about a Rose also about to join Beacon spread like a wild fire amongst them.

The Tribe dubbed it as rivalry, but Qrow believed it simply as a strong ambivelance feeling to Rose bloodline. The Tribe hated the Roses, just like any other groups of criminals, but above all they feared them like _all_ other criminals did. It never been a rivalry for every clash the bandits had with a Rose it usually ended up with many casualties and loss on the bandits side, while the said Rose would only get as much as a sore muscle in return.

So when the news of the Rose's demise reached the Tribe, they rejoiced like there was no tomorrow, celebrating the lost of one of few remaining defenders Remnant had. Qrow joined in the celebration, and that was still one of his biggest regret, but he was 5 when that happened and honestly didn't have much of an idea on what's going on.

The next news about the Roses however actually put the Tribe into a state of impeccable anxiety, that one girl survived the Purged, as they called the event, and was brought to Vale by the authorities.

One girl encased in white cloak.

A girl by the name Summer Rose.

Rose.

It's more than enough reason for Qrow and Raven to be sent to Beacon, and after a few days of planning they finally set on to the famous Combat Academy. It's a wonder such a simple name brought so much ruckus, had he not so dead-set in completing his objectives, Qrow would have realized the need to question them. But he was as much as a killing machine, hell-bent to complete his orders whatever the cost.

It still disgusted him to this day that one of those orders was to kill Summer by any mean necessary.

It disgusted him more that he actually _tried _to.

During their day of initiation on Emerald Forest he once tried to... Complete the deed. It was either he or Raven, but fate seemed to choose him specifically. He was so close from slinging the newly acquired Harbinger between Summer's neck when all of sudden she turned around and of all things to do, smiled at him.

The foreign gesture shocked him in place. With Harbinger raised high suspiciously close to her level, she never suspected it as a battle stance like any other sane person would. Instead, Summer began to _fawned_ over it like a child in candy store, not even aware what she considered as the candy might be the tool of her demise not few minutes ago.

In that moment, Qrow found himself hesitating for the first time.

_Where was the ruthless character the Tribe often used to describe the Roses as? Where was the merciless trait that was a part of the Roses?_

Many questions ran down his mind, confusing him even more than before. But as his red eyes locked on Silver ones and saw the warmth and joy pooling in it one question wormed its way above all.

_Where was the cold and dead gaze they supposed to have?_

In the end, he decided to search his answers first, and when it's became apparent there were none he finally accepted the woman in his life. That was the beginning of his change, from a killer to protector of the very same bloodline he was taught to demonize.

It took Raven for a little more while to open up like he did though, and it took her more to stop tripping Summer. Qrow had lost count how many time he had to pushed Summer out of the way, what start from a mere nudge turned to a full blown shove when the Tribe decided to send their own strike-team when it was clear neither he or his sister would continue their assignment.

On that day their true identities were revealed, and with that was the true nature of their objectives.

Tai was livid. The blond literally and inch away from turning Qrow's head to bloody pulp when Summer stepped in, however her initial response was actually served to agitated Taiyang even more.

_"Don't you understand?! They're going to kill you for something you didn't even do!"_

_"But they didn't! And that's what matter for me. Besides, it's not like this is the first time someone threatened to kill me for things I don't responsible of"_

Her response hit him like a brick to the nose of a flying airplane, and it's more painful than his broken hand. To have Summer compared him and Raven with others, no matter how subtle it was, was probably the worst punishment Qrow ever got from her. It didn't help how Summer adamantly refused to look them in the eyes for a whole week after that incident, but Qrow could still see the disappointment in her otherwise cheery gaze whenever she looked at him or Raven.

But Summer was a woman of silver heart, no matter how much of a misdeeds you commited to her she would always forgive you if you just apologize and promise her to never do it again especially to others. Those traits of her were one of the cause Qrow found her intriguing as a person and not long he opened himself for the first time to someone that wasn't his sister.

She understood how the world worked, she understood how painful it was to loose someone important. Yet despite it all she would always find a way to see the light in the end of the tunnel, but unlike many, she would return to the darkness and find someone looking for guidance to the said light and help them even if it meant stumbling and hurting herself in the process. For Qrow who had never even known he was lost, it's confusingly unusual to see a person like her.

Usually it's a matter of strength, in the Tribe and society, those who held the highest power would continue to live while the weak would ended up either die or as a stepping stones. He had seen what weakness brought to someone, and he once deemed who showed it unworthy, so seeing a supposedly eternal enemy of Branwen Tribe managed to get far stronger than many others through kindness and the need to help the weak instead of strength threw his belief asunder.

Qrow sighed, pulling his flask and took one long swig from it. He made his way to the terrace of their inn, giving a nod to a Faunus guarding the entrance in his way past before settling down behind one of many wooden columns.

No matter what people said, Mistral was actually a pretty nice kingdom. The scenery was great with many forests dotting the maps and while it didn't have as much as a tolerance to Faunus, the people were kind enough to outlanders.

As he adjust his position, Qrow wondered what his future niece said about the old Rose household in Mistral. Assuming the place was still exist and being taken care of by the government, it would be more than thirty years since someone truly owning it ever return there. If what people said about Rose family once rivaling the Schnee in term of power and influence, Qrow wouldn't be surprise if it's some sort of mansion

The idea of living in such of place was enough to make him frown in distaste, even more when his mind strayed to what if Ruby had to live in it all by herself, being the last Rose she was. He doubt she would want to despite her lack in social skills she wouldn't survive the loneliness of being independent.

Qrow paused, gazing up at the broken moon that he just found out the cause recently. Now he thought about it, the way his adult niece said it, it almost like she closed herself because of her experience dealing with loneliness. She simply didn't want to go through all the pain of losing someone invaluable to her so she chose to ignore the hole left by previous people in her chest even when it screamed fo her to be filled.

It hurted him to think that his niece would be like that. It seemed even the most kind of human could only took so much before declaring enough was enough.

Another sigh escaped his lips and Qrow began to fumble with his flask again, he would always try to numb his mind when it couldn't reach a conclusion for his thinking or when it involved the intricate persona of a Rose, which the latter always caused the former. He was halfway pulling the metal container when it slipped off his fingers and bounced on the ground for several feet until it came to a halt after hitting an object.

Qrow groaned a frustrated groan, jumping to his feet to acquire his flask. He was about to snatch it from the ground when he suddenly froze at what he saw, hand still extended forward and eyes wide open.

The object stopping his flask was a pot.

And on it was a single pristine white rose, blooming at its fullest, tall and thorny showing a single message that despite its beauty it could always fight back if one was pretty much to disturb it.

Qrow held back a choked breath.

**_~CONTINUE~_**

"Why?"

Ah, right. Why is the question of the lifetime to any intelligent living being, wondering why something as it was, was a part of life. This also the very same question Ruby had been questioning to herself and her Uncle for the last ten minutes.

Ten minutes ago since her Uncle suddenly barged into where she slept and practically shoved her awoke, ten minutes ago when she got startled beyond anything from her slumber and accidentally rolled herself down the comfortable couch to the ground, then had her head smashed to Crescent Rose's metallic side.

To say Ruby had a bad morning would be an understatement.

"Why what?" Qrow queried, glancing behind to where she lagged on a few steps from him. They were currently walking on a forest, the sun hadn't shown itself to the horizon yet so it's completely dark around them.

It's dead in the morning.

"Why the hell don't we have breakfast first? Don't you know I'm hungry after last night?"

"It's your own fault for not taking dinner"

"Well yeah but I didn't know it would be like this! Where do you get this info anyway? Is this even credible?"

Qrow shrugged, hands in his pockets. "Best intel comes from the people, some civvies says they know where the Branwen is and they want us to meet them"

Ruby stopped trying- and failing- to comb her unkempt hair and blinked, something about what her Uncle said wasn't adding up and despite her rather not so good condition thanks to sleep deprivation she still managed to catch it.

"Deep in the forest?" She asked incredulously, her instinct went overdrive to combat mode. Her guts told her something wasn't right and her feeling regarding this kind of situation rarely wrong. Already she mentally recounted her ammunitions while making sure Crescent Rose was safely positioned on her back.

Before Qrow could reply, a flash of red suddenly appeared directly on his path only a few metres from where he was. Seeing the danger before her, Ruby quickly activated her Semblance and pushed him out of the way all the while mentally cursing to herself on how correct her instinct was.

_I freaking hate it when I was right!_

She had seen the same trick before, during the war back in her time the splinter faction of White Fang usually utilized Red Dust as Improvised Explosive Device for ambushing military personel and civilian alike. So when the ground suddenly exploded into a briliant red and hot fireball she barely flinched, even when bullets started screaming past her she just calmly guide her Uncle behind a downed tree before pulling Crescent Rose compact form and shoved it to her Uncle.

"Wait, what?"

"I've had my suspicion and if my guess is right then we'll need them alive" Ruby explained, gesturing toward where the bullets came from with her thumb. "I might end up decapitating someone if I use a weapon right now"

"Wait, what?!"

The only answer Qrow got in return was a cloud of rose petals as she suddenly disappeared, though he was sure he heard a sigh from the woman.

A few metres forward their hiding place, Ruby reappeared behind another tree, this one still standing, and silently scanning the place where their assailants at. Silver Eyes glazed with annoyance and a tad bit of anger, she glared to the very same men she encountered last night on the bar.

_Of course it was them_...

This time they brought more of their friends, a total ten of them scattered across the rudimentary battlefield each carrying old looking rifles Ruby dully wondered _when _they would finally break, also each of them turned to her direction when they spotted her and began to fire wildly, so spread out she didn't even bother to take better cover.

Still, as pitiful as it was Ruby knew it's only a matter of time before one of them land a lucky hit to either her or her Uncle. Aura could protect them alright but it would still hurt as hell, and while not deadly it might hit somewhere vulnerable like their eyes and permanently blind them. The last thing she wanted was to lose her invaluable eyes.

Ruby waited for them to reload before dashing out her hiding spot, running through bushes and trees so she's not completely exposed to the hailstorm of bullets and explosions. A grenade blew up a few metres beside her forcing Ruby to roll on the ground to neutralize its blast momentum before she pushed herself back up and continued to run.

It took her a few seconds to close in the gap to her first target, a group of men targetting her Uncle from behind a boulder. She mentally noted the sounds of Harbinger shotgun mode firing in the background as she punched the first man on the side of his head and kicked him to his two friends.

They were caught off guard by her sudden appearance from thin air they didn't know what hit them until it's too late.

The unconscious body crashed on the second guy, he was standing on the middle of the group so he got the blunt of force behind her kick his lifeless friend receieved. The third guy realized what's happening brought his weapon to bear only for Ruby to catch its barrel and slammed it against his head, causing him to stumbled and released his weapon.

At this point the second guy already recovered and now screaming bloody murder to her as he lunged forward to tackle Ruby down. Not to take any more chance, Ruby kicked the third guy on the side of his head, she winced mentally when his head smashed against the boulder, and with a quick readjustment bashed the stock of the borrowed weapon on her grip to the coming enemy's head. The wooden rifle shattered to pieces from the impact, so did the man's Aura as he crashed down to the ground, unmoving.

It's all happened in least than three seconds.

Ruby swayed a bit on her feet, she quickly leaned against the boulder to catch her breath and mentally will the bile rising on her throat back down. Usually it won't take her much to finish these scumbags but the lack of sustenance combined with the fact she drank nothing but alcohol last night took a toll on her stamina and body.

_Welp, note to myself; never skip dinner before drinking Vodka._

She glanced to where her Uncle was only to find the man already finishing up the second group of their attackers, the glint of Harbinger sharp edge reflecting the early morning light to her. It took her a moment to realize her Uncle was staring somewhere in the distance before he shifted his weapon to its ranged function and fired.

Four different cries of pain echoed in the forest followed with thuds as whoever Qrow shot crashed to the ground, with a shake of her head both to clear the nauseous sensation and the disbelief in her mind, Ruby tentatively took a step forward and when she was sure she won't start vomiting she rushed to where her Uncle was heading.

Leave it to him to use a close-range weapon as impromptu Battle Rifle. Poor guys didn't stand a chance against the full blast pellets of Harbinger's shotgun mode.

With one final glance to her downed opponents, Ruby turned her attention to her Uncle. "You good?"

Qrow snorted, waving his hand dismissively "They don't even scratch me". He handed back Crescent Rose to her and added "I thought you would pull a badass move or something and defeat these guys in one swift motion"

Ruby scowled, kicking one of the writhing men her Uncle shot on his stomach, eliciting a groan of pain from him "Maybe next time".

The Hunter squatted low, staring directly at the bandits. "You think what I'm thinking?" He asked Ruby.

"That they are related to the Branwen?"

"Yes"

"Huh, I honestly thought you fell to this trickery they pulled on us" Ruby said dryly in response, scratching the back of her head.

Qrow scoffed. "Please... Cheap trick even a blind man can see from miles away"

"The fuck are you talking about?" One of the bandits whispered to her Uncle through gritted teeth, apparently still in pain. If Ruby had to guess, the man probably had his muscle beat to slag considering how a normal person usually had 'unrefined' Aura like Huntsmen do, thus it only offered a protection in very basic level. And seeing how Harbinger could easily blow a concrete from metres away, what a human body could do in comparison?

"We know nothing of the Branwen!" Another one interjected, she recognized him as the guy who pulled a dagger against her earlier in the bar.

"Yeah no. I'm not buying it" Qrow cut in before any of them could say anything more.

Shrugging, Ruby decided to join in the conversation, if one could say that. "You guys aren't the most discreet of suspects, ain't you? I mean wasting yourself in a bar like there's no tomorrow, literally dumping your money for drink in how many nights"

"So what? It could be because it's our payday! You don't even know us!"

"Dumbass, nobody would pull a sword against someone if they can help it especially in a middle of a bar full of witnesses" She shook her head in disbelief, running a hand on her still unkempt hair almost absently. "Listen, I've got a _very_ bad morning right now, my stomach is aching, my head is kinda fuzzy and I don't exactly on my best temper. So please, just tell me where your boss is and I promise you the only one you're going to deal with is the police instead of my fist... Or my baby"

"Your what?"

Ruby grabbed Crescent Rose from her back, extended it to its Scythe mode and unceremoniously slammed its forward-end blade near the bandit's face, ignoring the terrified scream he uttered in change for a respond "This is my baby"

"That's a fucking giant scythe! Who the fuck call it their baby?!"

"Uhh... Me? That's not the point! Can you tell us where Raven is?"

They suddenly fell quiet and Ruby stored her weapon back, for once they seemed genuinely conflicted, looking around the area between her and her Uncle nervously. Finally after a full minute of silence one of them spoke with tone full of resignation. "Screw it, I would rather have the police gets me instead of Raven"

His friends made a small sound of agreement, earning a frown from Ruby.

"I could just beat you out you know? After what I've seen, what you people have done, I honestly want nothing but to kill you all"

Qrow shuffled in discomfort, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Hey now-"

"At least you will only kill us. But Raven... She'll do other unimaginable things to us if she find out we're betraying her, trust me, missy, at that point death is the best outcome one can ask for"

"So you're saying you're too afraid of her?"

"Yes" He admitted shamelessly. "We're not even a full member of her tribe, she merely hired people like us to gather information on the next village she'll ravage"

"Well, I can assure you she won't do anything to any of you"

They laughed at that, a short bitter laugh as they pushed themselves to sitting position. Ruby kneeled down so she was on eye level with them. "What two Huntsmen can do against her? Do you even know what she capable of doing?"

"I'm fully aware with her capability, and I'm quite sure I'm more enough than match to her". When they stared at her like she had shoved Crescent Rose down her throat Ruby quickly added "But I'm certain it won't come to that, you see this guy over here" She jabbed a thumb to her Uncle, eliciting a scowl to appear on his face. "Is actually her brother"

Almost instantly their gazes settled on Qrow who merely shrugged before taking a swig from his flask. "The name's Qrow Branwen"

He despised everything related to the Tribe, but Qrow had to admit their priceless expressions were amusing.

"So please tell us where Raven is, would you? If we find her ourselves we might accidentally mention something about a group of rag tags which somehow related to her, and that they attacked us unprovoked" Ruby continued, internally snickering to their paling complexion. She knew Raven wouldn't give a damn to what happen to her or Qrow but they didn't know that, they said it themselves they're just a bunch of hiredguns. "But if you insist then I can't exactly force you, beside you're right, she'll probably cut something doesn't supposed to be cut if you betray her"

"Okay!"

"We'll show you the way to her camp!"

"Just... We know nothing about any of this!"

Ruby hummed and stood up, crossing her arms then looked around her, or specifically the rest of the bandits. "We can make that work, a simple plan would suffice. Although your other friends aren't necessarily needed so I guess I'll let the authority to take care of them"

"I don't care about them" One of them said flatly, briefly Ruby felt a sense of disgust but she snuffed it out. It's pretty common for these lowlifes to shove their friends under the bus afterall and no point to make a fuss out of it.

She turned around to face her Uncle. "Make the call, I'll brief them of the plan"

"You sure about this?" He asked, a slightest hint of uncertainty in his tone. "We could just interrogate them for information"

"Yes, but it would be better if we bring them with us. For all we know they could be lying if we do interrogate them, and the last thing I want is to waste precious time back-tracking these guys again". She shook her head, lowering her tone significantly "The words bandits and trust cannot be put on the same sentence, Qrow, people like them are full of deceit"

"We could always make a call to the authority and have them ask these guys again, I mean bringing them sounds more risky, what if they lure us to another trap?"

"Then we'll fend them off again, though I doubt it they hve another ambush set up. The worst thing they could pull is to try running away and we all know they won't be able to outrun me if it comes to that"

Qrow was silent as he pondered her proposal, his eyes occasionally flickered between the bandits on the ground and Ruby. "Alright then. Tell me about your plan with them"

She nodded. "Pretty simple, we follow them in considerable distance, have them knock the door while we wait and then we take the matters into our accord"

"And if that doesn't work?" He questioned expectantly, mimicking her earlier gesture and crossed his arms infront of his chest.

"Contingency plan, we spice things a bit" She declared with a smile full of mischief. "But first, we must disarm them. Don't want another additional guns blazing our direction"

Ruby was about to turned away when her Uncle suddenly grabbed her by arm, stopping her mid-motion. "Wait, one more thing. You know Raven marked me with her Semblance, right? She can sense me from continents away"

"We can have you anywhere nearby" She replied, frowning. How could she forget about that. "Guess I have no choice but to do this alone"

"I'll stay in considerable distance, not too far but too close either in case things go south. Honestly I don't like this plan already and we haven't started yet"

"Yeah... Yeah, it's a risk we have to take"

_Won't be the first time_. Ruby would say but refrained

**_TBC_**

**Sorry for taking a bit longer than expected, I had a problem working on the ending of this chapter so if it feels a bit rushed please bear with me. I honestly didn't have much of feel working on it after what I did to the rest of this chapter.**

**Anyway, I haven't watch any RWBY Volume 7 episode after Episode 3 so I don't exactly have any idea on how it progreses. To be frank I've lost my interest seeing how the show goes, I tried to not let what people said about it bother me but seeing it directly is a completely different story.**

**That been said, I want to address some interesting things I forgot to say in previous chapter. In Episode 3 it is hinted that Ruby's Semblance is not exactly speed but something else, now I actually had my suspicion about it but since the show _insisted_ it was speed I tried to find the logic in it being speed. But now, well let's just say it could be developed to something far more potent. The kicker here is Ruby Character Short from Volume 4, when Ruby was fighting a Beringel she managed to split herself to 3 different copies when using her Semblance, and unless she capable to run faster than light itself it should be impossible, from then I started to think how is that possible but I dismissed it as an exaggeration.**

**Anyway, next update probably around the first week of 2020, I would have a lot of free time so it probably sooner but don't look it up too much.**

**Responses for reviews**

**_merendinoemiliano:_ Mayybeeeee Ironwood does, but hey someone has to point out why Ironwood seemingly not interested to Ruby if he knew she has that much of power within her albeit dormant. Also, I believe Aura more than capable to hold back a few hits from bullets and blade but keep in mind that the bullets _might_ be enhanced with somekind of material specifically to penetrate Aura, afterall the second thing you do after creating a weapon is a way to counter it.**

**_JackTheSpades: _****Winter is there when Qrow barged in and demanded answers from Ozpin, she simply on the right place at the right time lol. And yeah Qrow already confronted him about it, also part of the reason why he wasted himself afterwards.**** That's before Rot explained everything though so you get the idea XD.**

**_The Imperial Forerunner: _Asides from modern-day fighter aircrafts, I love World War II vessels too. My favorite would be US made ones but Kriegsmarine was cool too.**

**_Lucian Naruto:_ Rot sees them as a kids and she is determined to keep them safe, in the process she unknowingly leaves an impression to them not just as a mentor of sort but a figure to look up to.**

**_AMV Riptide: _It's a plural noun though and I perhaps confused myself, either way thanks for notifying me.**

**_Alank2: _Bro that is a nice cover you recommended, thank you for that and your compliments.**

**_Sm0keyPanda: _I will keep on trying my best, this story could be more better if I have a decent understanding about English. Thanks for your encouragement.**

**_bankerrtx01_: I was waiting for someone to point that reference out lol. I love Halo even though I never play the game but the lore is just so complete it seems everything has their explanations. I just hope one day I will finally able to play it.**

**_Guest (Firewyrm2): _Nah no shippings lol. Huh, I'm not familiar with Kid Icarus Uprising so that's probably why I didn't catch it. So anyway I did a little research about gunpowder, and the materials needed are actually pretty simple I don't doubt there is some on Remnant. But hey it could be because they grow too reliant to Dust they don't even bother to look for something else to propel their bullets.**

**Sorry if my responses are a bit crude, it's 3 in the morning here and I want to upload this ASAP.**

**That concluded it then, I see you guys on the next chapter and as always please reviews.**

**Take it easy, guys.**

**Cipher032 out!**


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